Stockholm, Sweden 27 August 2013 -- Södra has shut down the 400,000 tpy Tofte pulp mill in Norway after no buyer was found.

Södra has permanently shut down its Tofte pulp mill in Norway on 25 August, a spokesperson for the Swedish pulp manufacturer told EUWID. The closure of the 400,000 tpy softwood and hardwood pulp mill had been planned to be carried out in spring this year but was postponed several times in order to improve conditions for a possible sale of the plant. The company had decided to part with the Tofte mill due to permanent problems to achieve adequate returns.

Södra had taken over the Tofte and Folla pulp mills from Norske Skog back in 2000. Last January, Södra sold the 105,000 tpy CTMP Folla pulp mill to the Austrian cartonboard producer Mayr-Melnhof.

Following the closure of the Tofte pulp mill, Södra is withdrawing from pulp operations in Norway. The company now runs three Swedish pulp mills in Mönsterås, Värö and Mörrum with a total pulp output capacity of 1.6 million t.