Sappi, one of the major players in the paper industry, is following the trend of its competitors by reducing its commitment to the graphic papers segment in order to focus on other sectors. The South African-based group has announced the closure of the Belgian Sappi Lanaken paper mill, which currently employs 644 people, and the end of the consultation process for the Stockstadt plant in Germany, which has 550 employees. With the closure of these two production sites, capacity in Europe will be reduced by around 750,000 tonnes of coated and uncoated paper.
Sappi also indicates that it has signed the sale of the German site. The transaction, for which no details of the buyer have been disclosed, is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2024. The Lanaken paper mill, along with two of the papermaker's other plants, was originally to be sold to the Sappi Group Aurelius, but the operation was cancelled last April .
According to Marco Eikelenboom, CEO of Sappi Europe, the European division of the 12,000-employee paper group is "faced with an overcapacity of graphic paper", which requires "long periods of costly commercial downtime". "While recent customer overstocking is diminishing, it has become very clear that demand will not return to previous levels. Combined with pressure on input costs, we do not expect this situation, caused by factors beyond our control, to improve in the foreseeable future."
Although Sappi does not intend to withdraw completely from the graphic paper market, the Group will now focus strongly on the packaging and specialty papers segment. More specifically, the company will turn its attention to flexible packaging, functional papers, adhesives (including glassine), labels and dye-sublimation.
