Norske Skog Idles Paper Machine

Paper company Norske Skog has announced plans to permanently shutter one of the paper machines operating at its mill in Walsum, Germany. The closing is scheduled to take place by the end of 2013 and will remove around 225,000 metric tons of coated mechanical magazine paper from the market.

The company says the other paper machine at the site, which produces lightweight coated paper, will continue to operate. That machine has an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tons.

In a statement, the company cited continuing overcapacity in the market for coated mechanical paper as the reason for the shutdown. “Despite considerable efforts from the employees to reduce costs, the decision is unfortunately inevitable,” says Sven Ombudstvedt, president and CEO of Norske Skog.