Ligatne suspends PM installation in Latvia

BRUSSELS, March 27, 2008 (RISI) - Papirfabrika Ligatne has indefinitely postponed plans to install PM 5 at its mill in Ligatne, Latvia.

All equipment for the 40,000 tonne/yr testliner and recycled fluting machine is on site, as is a new 200 tonne/day stock preparation line to feed the PM.

The company, which bought the unit from M-real and had entered into discussions with the Czech Republic’s Papcel to convert its output from uncoated woodfree paper, planned to raise Euro 2-4 million ($3-6 million) to fund the installation.

However, a spokesman said that Papirfabrika Ligatne, while still planning on installing the PM at some point, can no longer provide a timetable for when this will happen.

The company needs to deal with issues relating to energy supply, access to raw material, and which supplier will get the contract for the rebuild.

Papirfabrika Ligatne currently runs one machine, PM 1, at its mill, which can produce 13,000 tonnes/yr of value-added recycled paperboard for the art and academic markets.

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