Spanish newsprint and packaging paper producer Papresa has completed its first step into the recycled containerboard market. Miguel Sanchez, Papresa’s CEO, announced that the PM5 at the company’s paper mill in Errenteria produced its first jumbo roll of containerboard on 29 March. The machine formerly produced newsprint and was rebuilt to make recycled corrugated case material. Production had been switched off on 1 February to conclude the rebuild work implemented by Voith.
The PM5 now has the capacity to produce 205,000 tpy of testliner and fluting, mainly lightweight grades. Formerly, the machine had a capacity of 135,000 tpy of newsprint. By 2023, Papresa’s PM 4, which is rated to produce 75,000 tpy of newsprint, will also be converted to produce corrugating papers. The third PM at the Errenteria site, PM 6, will continue producing 165,000 tpy of newsprint.
Papresa is the only remaining newsprint producer in Spain. Given the structural decline in newsprint consumption and the growth prospects for the packaging segment, the company is diversifying into packaging paper. It was acquired by German industrial investment fund Quantum Capital Partners in October 2020 with the goal to implement a transformation and improvement process.