The privately-owned company confirmed this week that its UK subsidiary Palm Paper is to invest 330 million in a state-of-the-art paper mill in King’s Lynn on the former British Sugar Mill site.
The company said the new plant will house one of the largest and most advanced paper machines – 10.5 metres wide with a capacity to produce 400,000 tonnes of newsprint. King’s Lynn, said the company, being 90 miles north of London is “ideally situated to serve printers and publishers in the UK”.
Three projects
The announcement by Palm means that there are now three potential new projects for newsprint in the UK. It is widely accepted that there is room for at least one new machine. The other contenders are Ecco Newsprint (see letsrecycle.com story) which has proposals to build a machine at Wilton in North East England, while existing manufacturer Aylesford Newsprint is contemplating building a new machine at its existing site in Kent.
Local authorities look set to be wooed extensively by whoever ends up building the new machine and it is expected that there could well be a consequential increases in the prices paid for used newspapers, especially next year and in light of strong export demand as well.
Dr Wolfgang Palm, a fourth-generation member of the family and who runs the business today, told letsrecycle.com that the company has a “really good relationship with UK customers. We have been in the UK for seven years.”
Freight costs
He explained that the firm had been supplying paper into the UK for seven years but was currently facing high freight costs and producing the paper in the UK would help overcome this.
Dr Palm added that the company had some advantages over the other proposals. “We are close to the waste paper, closer to our customers. We have another big advantage with three mills behind us in the exsiting market which means we can use our experience well.”
Palm is thought to have had extensive discussions with the newspaper publishers including News International which is moving its southern printing oprations to Broxbourne at the end of the year where it is also likely to print for the Telegraph group.
The paper manufacturer claimed that its newsprint would be “of outstanding quality which will assist customers to optimise production in their pressrooms. The furnish for the new mill will be 100% recycled fibres.”
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Palm confirmed that it had purchased land for the plant and is currently in the planning application stage with start-up due in 2009. However, it is unclear whether the company has yet formally made a planning application. West Norfolk and Kings Lynn sources suggested that one could be imminent.
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