Stockholm, Sweden 19 November 2014 -- Holmen Paper is launching a new product in the SC segment in spring 2015, which will reduce the company's production of newsprint. "This new initiative will quickly bring about a significant change in newsprint volumes," comments sales and marketing director Karolina Svensson.

Intensive preparations are under way on PM 53 at Braviken Paper Mill outside Norrköping, Sweden, for the conversion work that is scheduled to begin at the end of January next year. PM 53 is Braviken's largest machine, with an annual capacity of 310 000 tonnes for the current product mix. The machine produces Holmen NEWS (newsprint) and Holmen XLNT - the uncoated magazine paper that makes up Holmen Paper's single biggest product family.

It is the production of newsprint for export outside the Nordic region that is going to be reduced when the new product is introduced next year.

"We are predicting a rapid rise in volumes for the new product," says Karolina Svensson. "The aim is to achieve an annualised running rate for production and sales of more than 100 000 tonnes by the end of 2015.

"We'll be reducing the production of newsprint at a corresponding rate, and in the longer term we'll only keep the volumes to supply our local markets in Scandinavia."

Holmen Paper judges that its own measures, combined with previously announced capacity closures elsewhere in the market, will considerably improve capacity utilisation for newsprint in 2015.