SAICA starts new recycled paper mill in Manchester
17 Feb 2012
Manchester, UK – SAICA’s new recycled paper mill in Partington has produced its first paper - ahead of schedule - following trials of the company’s paper machine 11 (PM11).
The production of SAICA’s first ’sellable’ paper at Partington marks the return of the paper industry to Trafford, and the beginning of a new chapter in British paper-making, the company said.
On 15 Jan, PM11 successfully produced paper for the first time, with paper running through the whole machine and paper reels being processed along the whole line. Three days later, the first sellable paper reels were produced and tested, leaving the mill and reaching the first customers shortly afterwards.
The £300 million recycled paper mill - SAICA’s first in the UK and the first ’new’ containerboard paper mill in the UK for decades -will produce 400,000tpa of 100% recycled containerboard each year.
The company’s first reel of sellable recycled paper made in the UK from UK recovered papers is a significant milestone, according to Francisco Carilla, industrial projects director.
However, he added: “We continue to work hard to improve the running of the machine, increase its speed, broaden the range and perfect the paper we produce at Partington.
PM11 is the final part of SAICA’s plan to become an integrated player in the UK, providing a closed-loop solution for the manufacture of papers and corrugated packaging.
SAICA Paper UK is part of the SAICA Group, a family owned Spanish company focused on the production of corrugated papers. The group alspo operates paper mills in Spain and France, and has annual sales of around Euro1.8 billion.
