Heinzel to convert paper machine

The supervisory boards of Laakirchen Papier AG and Heinzel Holding GmbH, paper companies headquartered in Austria, have approved a €100 million investment by Heinzel to strengthen the company’s paper mill in Laakirchen, Austria.

Kurt Maier, CEO of Heinzel Holding, says, “With these investments we will turn Laakirchen, with its two paper machines, into one of the most competitive and environmentally friendly paper mills in Europe – on a sustainable basis. A precondition for the realization of this project is a substantial efficiency program supported by all employees.”

The investment will consist of two parts. The first step will be converting its Paper Machine 10 (PM 10) to produce lightweight containerboard using recovered fibre as a key raw material.

The second part of the investment will be to increase the production capacity of the mill’s Paper Machine 11 (PM 11), which produces supercalendered paper for magazines, catalogs and commercial printing applications.

Mark Lunabba, CEO of Laakirchen Papier, says, “Laakirchen will be able to produce nearly 800,000 metric tons of paper annually, which means that the long-term future of the location is secured.”

The company’s PM 10 started operations in 1987 and has an annual output of around 250,000 short tons of supercalendered (SC) paper. However, following the investment, the machine will convert to producing lightweight containerboard using recovered fibre as the main raw material. The conversion is expected to be complete by the third quarter of 2017. When fully operational, the machine will have a production capacity of around 450,000 tonnes per year.

“The Heinzel Group will thus have established an outstanding position in the expanding European packaging paper market,” Maier notes. “In the years to come, the Laakirchen and Raubling (a recycled paperboard mill which Heinzel acquired in early 2016) locations will produce 700,000 [short] tons of container board grades annually. These will be marketed under the brand name 'starboard.'”

Along with the conversion of PM 10, Heinzel also says that it will undertake the conversion of PM 11 of around 300,000 tonnes of SC paper that will be increased to use the full potential of this machine. To achieve this, an additional calender will be taken into operation and provide paper with higher smoothness and gloss.

Mark Lunabba, CEO of Laakirchen Papier, says, “This represents a clear commitment to the production of publication papers in Laakirchen. The investment in the PM 11 will enable us to further improve our cost position with regard to SC papers and thus secure our future in a challenging business environment.”

The focus of the PM 11 will be web-offset printing papers with a high content of recycled fibre. However, rotogravure paper customers will continue to be served with products from Laakirchen.

Thomas Krawinkler, Laakirchen’s sales and marketing manager, says, “The conversion of the PM 10 allows us to balance the declining demand for rotogravure papers in our key markets. Nonetheless, in the future our customers can still rely on Laakirchen’s proven quality and first class service.”

During the coming 12 months, PM 10 will continue to produce its usual range of SC paper qualities. Subsequently, from autumn 2017 onward, all customers will be supplied from PM 11, the company notes.

The group’s trading business area includes Wilfried Heinzel AG, a global pulp, paper and board trading company, and Europapier International AG, a paper merchant in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the company also has a controlling stake in Bunzl & Biach GmbH, a recovered fibre company in Austria.