Renewed M-Real Simpele Board Line Celebrates Inauguration On September 7 2006, Now Offers Improved Simcote and Simwhite with Enhanced Availability
The official inauguration of M-real Simpele's renewed board line and Express Board sheeting service center took place on September 7th, 2006.
In her inaugural speech, Ms. Anne Brunila, President of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, emphasized the significance of the mill investment, "The new board line and sheeting unit being inaugurated here at Simpele today is a significant indicator of the forest industry's ability to innovate and also a good example how bold, new thinking can create visions and solutions to complement traditional processes. In the global markets, winners are those companies that are ready to transform according to the needs of their customers, boost the efficiency of their operations, improve productivity and maintain a constant effort to foster their competitiveness."
The investment further strengthens Simpele's strong market position as a supplier of reliable and well-appreciated high performance paperboards. Simcote and Simwhite are now remarkably lighter, yet stiff and bulky, and offer significant yield advantages and production efficiencies for customers. Printing properties have also been improved and tighter tolerances have enhanced quality consistency even further. High quality Simwhite is the merchants' first choice for graphics and packaging; Simcote is an ideal house sheet, the functional and economical choice for almost all packaging purposes.
Mr. Hannu Anttila, President and CEO, M-real Corporation, confirmed, "The new improved grades offer excellent printing properties and better runnability and convertibility, as well as significant yield advantages and production efficiencies. Because our grades are lightweight, they consume less raw material and energy, reduce transport volumes and result in less waste. The Simpele rebuild has therefore also had a very positive impact on the sustainability of the entire supply chain."
The investment, which totalled over 60 million euros (77 million USD), included major improvements to both the board machine and the finishing department. All three headboxes, the surface sizer and the reeler were replaced as well as major changes were made in the drying section. The finishing department was largely renewed with a new sheet cutter, rewinder and reel and sheet packaging equipment.
The new sheeting unit and related reel warehouse enhance availability of Simcote and Simwhite and enable Simpele to offer quick Express Board sheet deliveries. The total capacity of the board machine will gradually increase from 170 000 tonnes (187,000 tons) to 215 000 tonnes (237,000 tons) per annum.
For further information, please contact:
Jorma Sahlstedt, Regional Sales Director, Consumer Packaging Americas
Tel. +1 203 229 7483
Email jorma.sahlstedt@m-real.com
M-real Simpele
M-real Simpele is part of M-real's Consumer Packaging Business area and one of M-real's core production assets. The mill produces high-quality folding boxboard for food and general packaging and graphical applications as well as one-side coated papers for flexpack and labels.
Facts:
Established 1869
Number of employees 450
Production capacity 215 000 mt/a (board), 50 000 mt/a (paper)
Sheeting capacity 175 000 mt/a (board)
Certificates ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, HACCP DS 3027,
PEFC Chain of Custody and PEFC-logo
Board products
Simcote (205-340 g/m² OR 126-209 lbs/3000ft²) ; fully coated folding boxboard (GC2)
Simwhite (200-400 g/m² OR 123-246 lbs/3000ft²); fully coated bleached folding boxboard with coated back (GC1)
Paper products
Simcastor Plus (40-110 g/m² OR 25-55 lbs/3000ft²); one-side coated supercalendered bleached kraft paper
Simcastor Flex (40-110 g/m² OR 25-55 lbs/3000ft²); one-side coated supercalendered bleached kraft paper
Simcastor Label (70-90 g/m² OR 43-55 lbs/3000ft²); one-side coated supercalendered bleached kraft paper
Simcastor Base (76-88 g/m² OR 47 & 53 lbs/3000ft²); one-side clay-coated bleached kraft paper
Express Board Sheeting Service
Express Board Simpele Sheeting Service enables quick deliveries of Simcote in customized sizes from mill even in 3 days from order.
M-real Corporation
M-real Corporation, headquartered in Finland and employing over 15,000 people, is a European paper and paperboard company, providing premium solutions for consumer packaging, communications and advertising end-uses. Through its worldwide sales network, M-real serves its customers, mainly comprised of publishers, printers, paper merchants, offices and well-known consumer product companies and carton printers. M-real is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. In 2005, the sales of the company totalled EUR 5.2billion (6.6 billion USD).
www.m-real.com
