Norske Skog Golbey, the French plant of the Norwegian paper manufacturer Norske Skog located near Epinal in the Vosges region, is undergoing a change in leadership. After more than thirty years with the group and twenty years at the helm of the French site, Yves Bailly stepped down as president on July 2, having reached retirement age.
Until December 2026, Geir Drangsland, CEO and majority shareholder of Norske Skog, will serve as interim CEO. He will be joined by Christoffer Bull, the group?s vice president of business development.
This change comes as the plant continues the full-scale launch of one of its two production lines. With an investment of 330 million euros, the PM1 machine?formerly dedicated to newsprint production?has been producing PPO corrugated paper since May 2025. Ultimately, its annual capacity is expected to reach 550%E2euros%89000 metric tons. The second production line continues to produce 330,000 metric tons of newsprint.
For Norske Skog, Golbey is its main facility in terms of investments, production capacity, and assets. "The changes implemented at Golbey in recent years have made the site a strategic asset for the group. I want to personally support the teams during this ramp-up phase to ensure that this momentum continues." , says Geir Drangsland.
Twenty Years of Industrial Transformation
Under the leadership of Yves Bailly, the facility has undergone several other industrial upgrades. The plant welcomed new industrial partners in the vicinity, developed biogas production units in 2018 and again in 2024, began construction of a biomass boiler, and, in 2023, switched to using exclusively recycled fibers as feedstock.
"Throughout my career, I have strived to make this site competitive. The results from the newsprint line are encouraging. And for the paperboard line, once production ramp-up is fully underway, Golbey will become one of the leading sites in our industry. I have complete confidence in its future and in its ability to continually reinvent itself." , says Yves Bailly.
