(UPM, Helsinki, 15 January 2012 at 11:00 EET) - UPM
will permanently close down the unprofitable Albbruck paper
mill in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The discussions between
UPM, the employee representatives and local authorities did
not lead to a solution for continuing the operations at the
mill. Neither was the search for an investor successful. The
closure of the mill is affecting the 508 employees of the
mill. The personnel reductions will take place on 31 January
2012.
"UPM Albbruck mill has been making a loss for several
years due to the age and relatively small size of the
machines and the mill is not cost competitive within UPM
asset and global customer portfolio. Under the difficult
circumstances the highly qualified employees have done an
excellent job. Unfortunately, it would not have been possible
to improve the mill's profitability to an extent that would
have allowed sustainable operations," says Jyrki Ovaska,
President, UPM's Paper Business Group.
During the negotiations concerning reconciliation of
interest and social plan, issues such as pension schemes,
support for re-employment, relocations within the company,
re-training and compensation payments were discussed and
agreed.
"We understand the disappointment of the Albbruck mill
employees. All the participants of the round table
discussions have done their utmost to find a future-oriented
concept for the mill. Despite this strong commitment of
people involved, no solution could be found as the concepts
presented by potential investors were not economically sound.
UPM will implement a social plan in order to alleviate the
effects caused by personnel reductions in a responsible way,"
says Hartmut Wurster, Executive Vice President, who
represented UPM during the round table
discussions.
The sheeting lines of the mill will be transferred to
the company's paper mill in Plattling in order to complement
UPM's product portfolio. "UPM sees the coated mechanical
sheets as solid business, and is committed to serve the
customers after the Albbruck closure smoothly and promptly,"
explains Jyrki Ovaska. Approximately 30 new positions will be
created through this measure and applications from Albbruck
specialists will be prioritized.
Discussions about future use of the premises
ongoing
UPM will participate in the follow-up of the round
table discussions about the possible future use of the mill
premises. The discussions will be led by the local Chamber of
Commerce. "The aim of this forum is to find development ideas
and business opportunities for the site. We have already been
contacted by companies who are potentially interested in the
industrial use of the mill premises", says Hartmut
Wurster.
The Albbruck decision finalizes the paper capacity
closure plans that were announced by UPM last August. UPM
Albbruck paper mill had a capacity of 320,000 tonnes of
magazine papers. UPM Myllykoski paper mill in Finland with
600,000 tonnes of magazine papers was closed down on 9
December 2011 and the paper machine 3 at UPM Ettringen paper
mill in Germany with 110,000 tonnes of newsprint was closed
down on 14 December 2011.
The sales process of the Stracel paper mill in France
is ongoing as planned.
For further information please contact:
Jyrki Ovaska, President, Paper Business
Group, UPM, tel.: +358 2041 50564
Hartmut Wurster, Executive Vice President,
UPM, tel.: +49 821 3109 264
Matthias Scharre, General Manager, UPM
Albbruck, tel.: +49 7753 41 201
Notes for Editors
UPM Albbruck
UPM Albbruck paper mill manufactures coated magazine
papers including sheet-fed. Its three production lines have a
combined annual capacity of 320,000 tonnes. The mill was
founded in 1882 and is located in south Germany.
UPM-Kymmene Corporation
Pirkko Harrela
Executive Vice President,
Corporate Communications
UPM, Corporate Communications
Media Desk, tel. +358 40 588 3284
communications@upm.com
wwww.upm.com
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