UPM to switch off PM 3 at Steyrermühl end of March; 305K tpy of publication paper capacity taken off the market
(Helsinki, Finland, Feb. 02, 2017) After the closure of PM 2 at the Augsburg site at year-end, UPM has now announced it would permanently shut down the PM 3 at the Steyrermühl mill at the end of March. Employee consultation processes at both mills have been concluded.
UPM has set a date for the closure of the PM 3 at its Steyrermühl site in Austria. The company said it would switch off the SC paper machine at the end of March 2017. The closure had been announced in November last year as was the idling of PM 2 at the company’s Augsburg site in Germany. This machine has already been switched off at the end of 2016. With these two measures, UPM takes a total of 305,000 tpy of publication paper capacity from the market.
UPM furthermore informed that the employee consultation processes at both sites have been concluded. The company said that the number of employees affected by the closures is 143 for the Augsburg and 125 for the Steyrermühl site. “We understand the disappointment of our employees in Steyrermühl and Augsburg. Due to adverse market conditions continuously challenging us, we have to adjust our operations to meet the demand and to ensure a competitive future of our remaining paper assets,” said the company.
PM 3 in Steyrermühl has the capacity to produce 192,000 tpy of SC-B paper. UPM will continue operations on the mill’s PM 4 which can produce up to 300,000 tpy of newsprint. The idled PM 2 in Augsbrug has a capacity of 113,000 tpy of SC-A paper. The mill still has one machine left which can produce up to 385,000 tpy of LWC paper.
According to UPM, the closure of both machines will result in annual cost savings of approximately €30m. (Source: press release)
Cover Image: UPM Steyrermühl mill (courtesy UPM)
