Austrian packaging paper manufacturer Hamburger Containerboard has announced plans to permanently close paper machine 3 and cut 52 jobs at its site in Pitten, Austria.
The decision was communicated during a works meeting held on Tuesday.
The PM 3, with a working width of 2.5 metres, is no longer considered economically viable for the packaging paper market, the company states. The site’s fluidised bed boiler will also be taken out of operation.
According to Hamburger Containerboard's website, the PM 3 has a capacity to produce 135,000 tpy of fluting in grammages from 100 to 175 g/m². The other machine at the site, PM 4, has a working width of 5 m and can produce up to 315,000 tpy of recycled fluting, liner and plasterboard in grammages from 120 and 200 g/m².
The company, which is wholly owned by the Prinzhorn Group, says the move is a necessary step to ensure the long-term viability of the Pitten mill.
"We deeply regret having to part with a portion of our workforce – it is a painful but necessary decision to safeguard the future of the site," said Gerald Prinzhorn, CEO of the Prinzhorn Group.
Despite major efforts to maintain full employment, including a mid double-digit million euro investment in a new power plant last year, the company has so far been unsuccessful in acquiring neighbouring plots of land needed to expand production capacity.
Hamburger Containerboard says it is committed to supporting affected staff and their families. A comprehensive social plan is being developed in cooperation with the works council, and a voluntary employment foundation has been set up to offer retraining opportunities and reintegration support.
Founded 172 years ago, the Pitten mill is considered the founding site of the Prinzhorn Group, which today employs more than 10,000 people across 16 countries. With a workforce of 322, the Pitten mill remains one of the key employers in Lower Austria.
