Sappi has unveiled its plan to enhance packaging paper manufacturing capabilities at its sites located in the US and Europe.
As part of the plan, the company will invest around $165m to upgrade its mill in Somerset, New Jersey, US.
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Scheduled for completion by 2018, the renovation will increase the mill’s graphic paper production capacity by 180,000t annually.
Under its $140m investment plan for the European sites, Sappi is planning to carry out various projects over a three-year period.
Part of the investment will be used to convert the company's mill in Maastricht, Netherlands, into a solid bleach board facility, as well as enhance the offerings and capacity of Sappi's units in Ehingen and Alfeld, Germany.
Furthermore, Sappi’s Lanaken mill in Belgium will be turned into a woodfree coated paper production facility over the next three years.
Sappi CEO Steve Binnie said: “To maintain our strong momentum and support our strategy for growth, we have today announced a number of key investments.
“With demand for speciality packaging grades remaining robust, we will be undertaking a number of significant projects over the next two years in order to increase our production capacity in these grades.
“Our decision demonstrates our clear commitment to the consumer packaging market and our focus on maintaining our leadership in coated paper production in both North America and Europe.”
