SCA will take tissue paper capacities from the UK market. The company has plans to close one machine at its Stubbins mill due to reduced demand.
SCA has filed a request to close PM 1 at its British Stubbins tissue paper mill, north of Manchester. The plan will be discussed with employee representatives during the next 30 day; a final decision regarding the future of the machine will only be made after the consultation period, a SCA spokesman said. According to SCA, the closure would affect up to 34 employees. The mill currently employs 140 persons. The company did not reveal details regarding PM 1's capacity.
The spokesman explained that the machine has a width of 3.4 m and that this is a format for which demand is increasingly on the wane in the UK. The decision to close the machine is based on concerns over overcapacity in this segment in the UK and the age of the machine.
PM 1 produces recycled tissue paper which is converted to tissue products in the nearby Skelmersdale mill. Should the machine be closed, the Stubbins mill will be left with two other tissue machines. SCA's other UK sites apart from Stubbins and Skelmersdale include the tissue mills at Chesterfield, Manchester, Oekenholt and Prubdhoe.
