Norske Skog to close the Tasman mill in New Zealand and sell the mill’s assets. Production will cease by 30 June 2021, reducing Norske Skog’s newsprint capacity by approximately 150,000 tonnes per annum. The Tasman mill has only produced very limited volumes during 2021. Norske Skog will honour all redundancy and contractual obligations to the mill’s approximately 160 employees as the workforce is progressively reduced during the third quarter.
“The decision to close the Tasman mill follows a detailed review over the past eight months. It will address the substantial imbalance between newsprint production capacity and customer demand in the Australasian region. The Tasman mill has been an important contributor to the regional economy in New Zealand for the past 66 years, producing more than 15 million tonnes of publication paper over its lifetime,” says Sven Ombudstvedt, CEO of Norske Skog.
The sale process for the mill’s assets is currently being finalised, and announcements will be made when definitive transactions have been agreed. Mill asset sales are expected to be completed during the second half of 2021, with gross proceeds and working capital release expected to amount to approximatley NZD 60 million. In summary, a net positive cash effect of approximately NZD 20 million is expected once everything is settled.
The Norske Skog Boyer mill will be the last domestic Australasian publication paper producer with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes newsprint and 135,000 tonnes LWC magazine paper. The Boyer mill will continue to serve the Australasian publication paper market under long-term contracts.
Source: Lesprom Network