The mill will be converted to produce corrugated case material (CCM) in the first quarter of 2027.
The German paper company pointed to the “structural decline of the market for newsprint”.
A spokesperson for the mill company said: “The demand for newsprint in Western Europe has declined by 60% over the last 10 years.
“This structural trend is set to continue in the future. As Europe’s largest supplier of newsprint, we also need to adapt our production capacities to these changing market conditions…
“At the same time, we remain firmly committed to the newsprint market.”
Palm confirmed that it will continue to reprocess newsprint via its two paper machines at the Eltmann mill near Bamberg in Germany.
The company recently invested €100 million (£85.1 million) into the site, which has a capacity of 550,000 tonnes.
Following its conversion, PM 7 in King’s Lynn will produce lightweight CCM made from recycled paper, with basis weights starting at 60 g/m². The production capacity will sit at up to 700,000 tonnes of CCM per year.
Palm said that it plans for the conversion to be complete from March 2027.
The paper mill in King’s Lynn was built on a greenfield site in 2009.
Market situation for newsprint
As the biggest domestic reprocessor of newsprint, the update means that news and pam is now effectively an export-only market for traditional recycling.
There will continue to be domestic reprocessing for other purposes such as animal bedding.
Palm significantly reduced their purchasing price by about £15 per tonne at the start of 2026, leading to a decline in the domestic price.
News and pam has remained more stable on the export side and has seen increases in recent months.
It is likely that the update from Palm will impact both domestic and export pricing over the next 12 months.
View our full paper prices index here.
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