UPM has shut down 485,000 tonnes of graphic paper capacity after permanently closing paper machines 6 and 4 at the UPM Schongau mill in Germany and UPM Steyrermühl in Austria, respectively. The Schongau PM closing has affected 136 employees, while the Steyrermühl PM closing has no impact on its employees.
Jun 28, 2023
UPM has recently made the decision to permanently close its uncoated publication paper machine 6 at UPM Schongau, Germany, and newspaper production paper machine 4 at UPM Steyrermühl, Austria, closing 485,000 tonnes of graphic paper capacity in Europe. The decision is based on the plans announced by the company in June 2022 and in March 2023. For the Schongau plant, 136 employees have been affected, whereas the change in the Steyrermühl mill will have no impact on the plans for the Steyrermühl site and its employees. UPM Communication Papers ended the newspaper production at its Steyrermühl mill, in order to accelerate the plans to ensure competitive production at the remaining newsprint paper machines in Europe.
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Mr. Wolfgang Ohnesorg, General Manager, UPM Schongau said, “We held constructive and fair employee discussions to reduce the impact of the paper machine closure on our personnel. Additionally, we took the opportunity to implement structural changes to make our site fit for future challenges. I would like to express my sincere thanks to our entire workforce, which has managed to transfer all paper grades previously produced from PM 6 to PM 9 in such a short time frame.” Mr. Ernst Spitzbart, General Manager, UPM Steyrermühl, said, “I admire the professionalism and flexibility of our employees, who are already working conscientiously to integrate UPM Steyrermühl into the Heinzel Group. The new owner will take over the responsibility for the site and thus also for the employees after the closing of the transaction is completed at the beginning of 2024.”
