Since the end of last April, Lecta has temporarily discontinued the production of line 8 in the French plant of Condat, which is situated in the French town of Le Lardin Saint Lazare. The decision will be subject to reassessment in future months depending on the evolution of the market.
The drop in the demand for coated papers, which has been registered in recent years, has led to an excess in production in our sector. This downward trend registered in demand, which has accentuated in recent months, is the main reason behind the temporary discontinuation of production line in Condat. The Condate branded range of products and the level of service will continue to be guaranteed thanks to increased efficiency and the optimization of Condat’s line 4, as well as to the contribution of other factories manufacturing coated paper that are part of the group. In spite of this temporary discontinuation, the global demand for coated papers by Lecta’s customers is guaranteed by the total production capacity of the group, which is over 850 000 tons a year. At the same time, Lecta continues working on a strategic and transformation plan that should enable Condat to face the future with higher probabilities of success, even if this project is currently being defined and will be finalized in the following months.
This plan is expected to change production line 8, whereby the latter, was once used for the production of bi-coated papers, should be used for the manufacturing of special papers for labels and flexible packaging, which is a market where Lecta boasts considerable experience thanks to its industrial activity in Spain and business activities all over the world.