Holmen - Fire at Hallsta Paper Mill


Stockholm, Sweden 22 November 2015 -- A fire broke out on Friday evening at Hallsta Paper Mill in Hallstavik, outside Norrtälje, Sweden. No-one was injured, but production has been stopped.

The fire took place in the pulp factory in the north of the factory site. It was put out by the emergency services, and clean-up efforts began immediately at Friday night. The two paper machines at the mill were not affected or damaged by the fire.

Paper production has been halted until activities in the fire-damaged pulp factory can be resumed. The current assessment is that it will be possible to start up the pulp factory again, in any case partially, within two to three weeks.

"We're initiating immediate dialogue with those customers next in line for deliveries from the mill, and we'll be doing our utmost to ensure that our customers are affected to as minor an extent as possible," says Nils Ringborg, CEO at Holmen Paper.

An investigation into the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage is in progress. The incident is expected to have a negative impact on results for the fourth quarter amounting to SEK 30 million.