International Paper Postpones Conversion of PM-15 at Riverdale Mill

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Memphis, Tennessee-headquartered International Paper Company (IP) has postponed its plans to convert output of paper machine in Selma, Alabama mill to packaging grades. The conversion project, announced in September last year, was supposed to get completed in Q3 this year.

IP had earlier decided to switch production of its 235,000 ton-per-year No.15 paper machine at the Riverdale mill from uncoated freesheet into packaging grades such as whitetop linerboard and containerboard. The conversion project had targeted addition of nearly 450,000 tons of capacity per annum and had promised effective shift between containerboard products of high market demand.

During the question and answer session after his speech at the recently held Citi Basic Materials Conference in New York City, Mark Sutton, chairman and CEO of International Paper stated that the company has decided to defer the conversion project until Q1 or H1 of 2020. The decision to postpone the project is mainly on the back of escalated project cost and issues pertaining to equipment and skilled labor.

The proposed project would have repositioned the paper machine at the Riverdale mill to better serve the growing packaging business and significantly optimize its North American Papers business.

This story originally appeared in www.recyclingtoday.com