This November 21, Smurfit Kappa was to present a job protection plan (PSE) for the Pontet paper mill (Smurfit Kappa Alfa d’Avignon) located in the south-east of France. The site, which employs nearly sixty people, could close in February 2024. This century-old site joined the Smurfit Kappa group in 1994. It has a production capacity of 75,000 t/year of corrugated case material (CCM), mainly testliner. Some production would be reassigned to other units of the group in France (Saillat and Rethel, which also produce testliner).
Current overcapacity in CCM market in Europe (with the arrival of new machines) as well as the deterioration in corrugated board consumption due to inflation and sluggish consumption are among the reasons for this decision.
V. L.
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