The Palm Paper UK, a subsidiary of Germany’s largest paper company, has started production on the world’s largest recycled newsprint machine three weeks ahead of schedule. The new paper mill costing as much as £350 – £400m and all set to produce 400,000 tons of newsprint annually switched on the PM7 machine at its King Lynn site in Norfolk on August 21. The machine with a net width of 10.63m will produce newsprint for standard, flexo and heatset applications, using 100 percent selected recycled fiber.
The company hopes to see stability in the consumption of newsprint within a few months. Palm Paper’s managing director Derek Harman said:
We want to stabilize production and carry out further trials to check that the quality is up to scratch on such a large machine.
The PM7, the seventh papermaking machine for Palm and purchased from Voith Paper is designed for a maximum production speed of 2,200 m/min. The site, which received planning permission from King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council in November 2007, provides a living to 150 staff workers.