Stora Enso Closing Lines

Stora Enso will permanently discontinue production of its folding carton operations and pasted chip line at the Wisconsin Rapids Paperboard Mill; permanently shut down its lightweight coated paper machine at the Division’s Biron Mill; and invest approximately $50 million in a two-year program to modernize select pulp and paper machines within its magazine paper business.

The asset restructuring program will include major enhancements to the No. 26 LWC paper machine at the Division’s Biron Mill; improvements to the No. 64 LWC paper machine at its Whiting Mill; and a pulp-plant expansion at its existing thermo-mechanical pulp plant at its Canadian Port Hawkesbury papermaking facility.

Production of Stora Enso North America’s folding carton and pasted chip operations at the Wisconsin Rapids Paperboard Mill in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., will be closed by the end of next month, resulting in permanent closure of these operations with the capacity to produce 25,000 metric tons a year.

Additionally, certain assets of Stora Enso North America’s Wisconsin Rapids Paperboard Products Mill were sold to Corenso North America, a subsidiary of Corenso United Oy Ltd, of which Stora Enso is a majority owner. The asset transfer was completed on January 2. The No. 13 paperboard machine at the Wisconsin Rapids Paper Mill and the associated recycling operation, the Paperboard office and production facility, and the coreboard and core machinery and equipment are assets that have been transferred to Corenso North America.

Investments will be made in the Biron Mill’s No. 26 LWC paper machine, Biron, Wis., to improve the machine’s production efficiency and to increase the machine’s speed. These improvements also will lead to improved paper performance on printing presses. The project is expected to be complete in 2003.

The Biron Mill’s oldest and least competitive LWC paper machine, No. 23, will be permanently shut down. This shutdown will reduce the Biron Mill’s lightweight-coated paper capacity by about 50,000 metric tons per year. Due to the machine’s inefficiencies and weak demand for the products that it produces, this machine has not operated since March 30, 2001. Because the paper machine has been down for nearly one year, no further reductions are expected in the mill’s total work force due to No. 23’s shutdown.

At Stora Enso North America’s Whiting Mill, Whiting, Wis., a new winder will be added to the mill’s No. 64 LWC paper machine. This addition will improve the characteristics of the paper and further strengthen the machine’s competitive position in the demanding ultra-lightweight coated paper market.

The existing TMP pulp plant at the Port Hawkesbury Mill, Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, Canada, will be expanded to better support the production of its two paper machines. No. 1 paper machine produces newsprint. No. 2 paper machine is the largest machine producing supercalendered paper in the world. The investment will enhance the efficiency and productivity of the pulp-making process.