DS Smith plans 300,000 tpy capacity increase at Lucca mill in Italy

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Recycled containerboard machine PM 3 will replace the existing PM 1 and boost the mill's capacity to over 700,000 tpy.

Recycling, paper and corrugated packaging group DS Smith plans to invest some €160m in its recycled containerboard mill in Lucca, Italy, in order to increase the mill's capacity and add certain lightweight paper grades to its product portfolio.

According to the project documentation, the new recycled containerboard machine will have a net production capacity of 476,000 tpy and will produce brown testliner and recycled corrugating medium grades in basis weights of 70-135 g/m². The PM 3 will replace the smaller 175,000 tpy machine PM 1 that is to be dismantled and sold outside Europe.

In early October last year, DS Smith Paper Italia has filed for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) with the authorities of Italy's Tuscany Region and the project is still in the permitting phase.
Citizens' groups and Italy's environmental organisation Legambiente are raising objections against the expansion project at the Lucca mill, according to local media outlets. They criticise the expected increase in air and noise pollution and extended usage of fresh water in the production process as a result of the capacity expansion.

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