Renewed M-real Simpele board line inaugurated
7.9.2006
Renewed M-real Simpele board line inaugurated
M-real Corporation Press Release 7.9.2006 at 4.00 p.m.
The official inauguration of M-real Simpele's renewed board line and Express
Board sheeting service centre took place on 7 September 2006.
In her inaugural speech, Ms Anne Brunila, President, Finnish Forest Industries
Federation, emphasised the significance of the mill investment: “The new board
line and sheeting unit being inaugurated here at Simpele today is a significant
indicator of the forest industry's ability to innovate and also a good example
how bold, new thinking can create visions and solutions to complement
traditional processes. In the global markets winners are those companies that
are ready to transform according to the needs of their customers, boost the
efficiency of their operations, improve productivity and maintain a constant
effort to foster their competitiveness.”
The investment further strengthens Simpele's strong market position as a
supplier of reliable and well-appreciated high performance paperboards. Simcote
and Simwhite are now remarkably lighter, yet stiff and bulky, and offer
significant yield advantages and production efficiencies for customers.
Printing properties have also been improved and tighter tolerances have
enhanced quality consistency even further. High quality Simwhite is the
merchants' first choice for graphics and packaging; Simcote is an ideal house
sheet, the functional and economical choice for almost all packaging purposes.
Mr Hannu Anttila, President and CEO, M-real Corporation, confirmed, “The new
improved grades offer excellent printing properties and better runnability and
convertibility, as well as significant yield advantages and production
efficiencies. And because our grades are lightweight, they consume less raw
material and energy, reduce transport volumes and result in less waste. The
Simpele rebuild has therefore also had a very positive impact on the
sustainability of the entire supply chain.”
The investment, which totalled over 60 million euros, included major
improvements to the board machine and to the finishing department. All three
headboxes, the surface sizer and the reeler were replaced and major changes
were also made in the drying section. The finishing department was largely
renewed with a new sheet cutter, rewinder and reel and sheet packaging
equipment.
The new sheeting unit and related reel warehouse enhance availability of
Simcote and Simwhite and enable Simpele to offer quick Express Board sheet
deliveries. The total capacity of the board machine will gradually increase
from 170 000 tonnes to 215 000 tonnes per annum.
For further information, please contact:
Mr Hannu Kottonen, Executive Vice President, Consumer Packaging
Tel. +358 (0)10 469 4900
Email hannu.kottonen@m-real.com
Juha Kovanen, Vice President and Mill Manager, M-real Simpele
Tel. +358 (0)10 464 8322
Email juha.kovanen@m-real.com
M-real Simpele
M-real Simpele is part of M-real's Consumer Packaging Business area and one of
M-real's core production assets. The mill produces high-quality folding
boxboard for food and general packaging and graphical applications as well as
one-side coated papers for flexpack and labels.
Facts:
Established 1869
Number of employees 450
Production capacity 215 000 t/a (board), 50 000 t/a
(paper)
Sheeting capacity 175 000 t/a
Certificates ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS
18001, HACCP DS 3027,
PEFC Chain of Custody
and PEFC-logo
Board products
Simcote (205-340 g/m²) ; fully coated folding boxboard (GC2)
Simwhite (200-400 g/m²); fully coated bleached folding boxboard with coated
back (GC1)
Paper products
Simcastor Plus (40-110 g/m²); one-side coated supercalendered bleached kraft
paper
Simcastor Flex (40-110 g/m²); one-side coated supercalendered bleached kraft
paper
Simcastor Label (70-90 g/m²); one-side coated supercalendered bleached kraft
paper
Simcastor Base (76-88 g/m²); clay-coated bleached kraft paper
Express Board Sheeting Service
Express Board Simpele Sheeting Service enables quick deliveries of Simcote in
customized sizes from mill even in 3 days from order.
M-real Corporation
M-real Corporation, headquartered in Finland and employing over 15,000 people,
is a European paper and paperboard company, providing premium solutions for
consumer packaging, communications and advertising end-uses. Through its
worldwide sales network, M-real serves its customers, mainly comprised of
publishers, printers, paper merchants, offices and well-known consumer product
companies and carton printers. M-real is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
In 2005, the sales of the company totalled EUR 5.2 billion.
