Paper mill shutdown caused by fire

A temporary shutdown of coated paper production occurred at Sappi's Stockstadt mill in Germany over Christmas and the New Year due to a fire.

Staff had to be evacuated when the fire broke out in the mill's paper machine 2 (PM2) on December 20. More than 300 firefighters attended the fire.

Activities to restart the mill's uncoated paper production line (PM1) were under way the following day, while Sappi estimated coated paper production will be restarted early in the new year.

Production areas which have not been affected include the mill's pulp department, finished goods, stocks and sheeting.

An investigation has been launched to determine the extent of the damage to the PM2 and coating equipment as well as the cause of the fire.

A total of 230,000 tonnes of coated woodfree paper is created annualy by Stockstadt mill's PM2, while 200,000 tonnes of uncoated woodfree paper is produced at its PM1.

Because other mills will be able to cover any shortfall while Stockstadt is out of action, Sappi said that no interruptions to customer deliveries were anticipated.

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