As UPM declared in 2011 its intention to sell or to close its LWC paper production facilities at Strasbourg, VPK Packaging Group NV (Belgium) and Klingele Papierwerke (Germany) announced on July 3nd last year that they submitted through their French joint venture company, Blue Paper SAS, a formal offer providing for the sale and purchase of certain assets and a parcel of land of the paper mill site of Stracel.
On January 22 2013, UPM France notified Blue Paper that it accepted Blue Paper’s offer. After a successful closing of the transaction, scheduled in March 2013, VPK and Klingele through Blue Paper shall become owners of the Stracel paper machine that is purchased together with the wastewater treatment plant, a biomass boiler and auxiliary equipment for an undisclosed amount.
The paper mill, lying on the banks of the Rhine, close to Strasbourg, is strategically located in the heart of western Europe, with access to excellent transportation infrastructures, especially the water, road and rail networks.
Stracel’s paper machine has a trimmed width of 8.5 m and produced LWC paper at a speed of 1.600 m/min. After reconversion by Blue Paper, the paper machine will initially have a capacity of 277 ’000 tons/year of fluting and testliner 70 till 130 g/m². The reconverted paper machine is scheduled to start producing these light weight corrugating papers in September 2013. The aim of Blue Paper is indeed to increase the production capacity of recycled paper in due time up to more than 400’000 tons/year.
Blue Paper’s project in Strasbourg, and in connection herewith the conversion of the paper machine and its related equipment, involves an investment in the amount of more than 100 million EUR. The main supplier for the rebuild of the paper machine is Metso and the supplier of the stock preparation is Kadant.
As part of the conversion Blue Paper’s Strasbourg mill will receive a completely new stock preparation based on recovered paper, a new head box, a modification of the gap former, upgrades to the press and pre drying sections, a new film press, a new after drying section, upgrades to the winders and a new anaerobic waste water treatment plant. Further significant investments will include automation and process control system, paper transport systems, starch preparation, mill and ERP computer systems and extensive civil works.
This project shall create 130 new jobs that will be offered to former UPM Stracel employees who are technically skilled and well experienced in the process of paper production.
VPK Packaging Group NV is a integrated European packaging group with 33 companies spread across 12 European countries, realizing sales of 700 mio € and having a total of 3’000 employees.
Klingele , a German family owned company since 1920, consists of one paper mill, six integrated corrugated plants and seven converting plants in Europe and Africa, realizing sales of 340 mio € and having a total of 1’250 employees.
