Smurfit Kappa to cut production by 130,000 tons

-- Converting Magazine, 4/1/2008

Dublin, Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa Group plc (www.smurfitkappa.com) will permanently close 130,000 metric tons of less-efficient, containerboard capacity and reduce its 2008 production by up to 80,000 metric tons through market-related downtime.

SKG will permanently close its Valladolid recycled-containerboard mill in Northern Spain in the second quarter of 2008, with the objective of reducing operating costs and maximizing continuing efficiency of the mill system, SKG says.

SKG, one of the world’s largest integrated manufacturers of paper-based packaging with operations in Europe and Latin America, will continue to review its production capacity, the cost profile of its mills relative to integration requirements, broader market demand and industry inventory levels, it says.