Massive blaze destroyed about 8,000 t of recovered paper and board.
A large fire at the recovered fibre yard at Smurfit Kappa Group's SSK paper mill in Birmingham, UK, will not have "any material impact on production” at the site, the company said in a press release. A fire broke out at adjacent premises on the evening of 12 June and high winds spread it to the recovered paper yard, Smurfit Kappa Group reported. The fire was brought under control within a few hours by plant employees and the West Midlands fire department, and fire-fighting measures continued until the morning of 13 June.
The paper mill itself was unaffected by the fire, the company said. The fire department said there were no casualties in the blaze and it estimated that approximately 8,000 t of recovered paper caught fire.
At its Birmingham plant, Smurfit Kappa Group produces brown testliner and fluting for conversion to corrugated board products. The production capacity on the paper machine amounts to around 180,000 tpy. Approximately 200,000 t of recovered paper are converted at the site annually.
