Displaying items by tag: holmen

Many companies are now flooded with questions and surveys from their customers and suppliers about sustainability. When Holmen Iggesund discovered EcoVadis, they saw an opportunity to simplify reviews and increase transparency around sustainability.

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EcoVadis is a fast-growing web-based platform where customers and suppliers can exchange sustainability information. Those who report on the platform must answer around 250 questions on the environment, working conditions, business ethics and procurement. All answers must be substantiated with the relevant documents and answers are third-party reviewed and evaluated.

“Holmen Iggesund has been reporting on EcoVadis’ system for over five years and the platform increases transparency through an easier way to exchange sustainability information between companies. Today, over 50 customers and suppliers can see in detail how our sustainability is ranked by third-party auditors, and this has simplified our daily work,” says Johan Granås, Sustainability director at Holmen Iggesund.

“The demand for transparency and the increasing scope of sustainability information requested by customers and other stakeholders requires better systems to work well.", says Johan Granås, Sustainability director at Holmen Iggesund.“The demand for transparency and the increasing scope of sustainability information requested by customers and other stakeholders requires better systems to work well.", says Johan Granås, Sustainability director at Holmen Iggesund.

Platinum for both of Holmen Iggesund’s mills

This year, Holmen Iggesund's two mills, in Iggesund and Workington, have again been awarded the highest level, Platinum, which means that they belong to the very highest percentile of all audited companies.

"Of course, it’s satisfying to maintain this level. It is important that we constantly improve because we see so many challenges for society related to the environment and sustainability, not just the climate. We are extra proud to be a heavy manufacturing industry with this high rating. When we are compared to other companies, this also includes banks, insurance companies and consulting companies with significantly lower direct environmental impacts than us,” emphasises Johan Granås.

In addition to the customers who have ongoing access to the platform, it is possible to export reports in varying degrees of detail that can be used for questions from other stakeholders. The system is not only used to share sustainability information - in the Holmen Group it is also used to collect sustainability information with the intention of evaluating suppliers.

“Our work with the EcoVadis survey is not just a service to customers and partners. It also provides a regular check of the status of our sustainability agenda and gives us ideas on how we should prioritise sustainability work in the future,” concludes Johan Granås.

2022 04 28 095937

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When produced where the environmental impact of producing electricity is low, and where the forest is sustainably managed, paper from fresh fibres has lower environmental impact than paper from recycled fibres. That’s the conclusion of a new life cycle study made by IVL, Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

HolmenThe study uses a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, comparing 100% fresh fibre-based paper produced at Holmen Paper in Sweden with 100% recycled-based paper produced with German production conditions. The study shows that paper based on fresh fibre has a lower environmental impact than recycled paper, not least when it comes to emissions. The study was also subject to a third-party review. 

“In Holmen, we are extremely focused on sustainability and it’s vital to know that when we embarked on this journey, we were studying our own environmental impact and were in no way interested in discrediting recycled paper. But the key findings in this study are very important because it shows that the general misconception that recycled paper is better for the climate is in fact wrong”, says Lars Lundin, CEO at Holmen Paper.

An important variable in the findings of the study is the energy mix. Producing paper from fresh wood resources requires more energy than paper produced from recycled resources. However, the study shows that if low-emission renewable energy resources are used for the fresh fibre production, the environmental effects can be significantly reduced. One reason the Swedish scenario does so well is that the Swedish electricity mix has a lower environmental impact compared to the German.

“The study shows that paper from fresh fibres has a lower environmental impact in several aspects. When comparing climate impact, eutrophication and acidification the difference between fresh and recycled fibres is significant in favour for the fresh fibre, despite higher energy consumption”, says Håkan Stripple from the Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

Fresh fibre is also essential for the whole recycling process. The cellulose fibres in paper cannot be recycled more than about 5-7 times. After that, the fibre quality is so low you can no longer use it to produce paper. Therefore, the addition of fresh fibre is vital for the paper recycling process.

“To combat climate change, we need to lower our emissions and replace fossil based materials. All paper is renewable, degradable and climate smart, but we need to acknowledge the fact that paper from fresh fibres is, in many cases, better for the climate and an essential prerequisite for recycled paper”, concludes Lars Lundin.

The Whitepaper “Environmental benefits of fresh fibre” is available to download at www.holmen.com 

Holmen’s business concept is to own and add value to the forest. The forest holdings form the basis of the business – an ecocycle in which the raw material grows and is refined into everything from wood for climate-smart building to renewable packaging, magazines and books. The forest is managed to provide a good annual return and stable value growth while our production operations are run with a focus on profitability and greater value added. In 2018 Holmen’s net sales were just over SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3 000 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

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As previously announced Holmen (STO:HOLMB) (STO:HOLMA) has signed an agreement to sell its newsprint mill in Madrid, Spain. The transaction is now closed.

holmen logoThe buyer, International Paper, will convert the mill into recycled containerboard production. International Paper will continue to produce newsprint at the mill until the second half of 2017 when it is scheduled to be converted into recycled containerboard. During this period, Holmen will sell the newsprint produced at the mill and continue to serve its customers.

- During this period we will maintain our service and deliveries of todays products. Our customers will not be affected, says Nils Ringborg, CEO Holmen Paper.

Included in the transaction is also the recycled paper collector Cartón y Papel Reciclado S.A. (Carpa) and Holmen´s 50 per cent shareholding in the energy producer Peninsular Cogeneración S.A.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures paperboard, printing paper and sawn timber and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2015 Holmen’s net sales were SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,300 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

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Holmen is investing in a pressure treatment plant and a distribution warehouse at Braviken Sawmill outside Norrköping. The investment is estimated to amount to SEK 50 million.

holmen logoOpened in 2011, Braviken Sawmill now manufactures sawn and planed wood products in spruce and pine. Over the years, the mill has expanded in size and gained a new warehouse for its finished products. Having started out only sawing spruce, in summer 2015 a strategic investment began with a view to broadening production to include pine joinery timber, as well as enabling the manufacture of decking and joists for outdoor purposes.

“In autumn 2015, Braviken Sawmill began sawing both spruce and pine. We want to offer our customers a broader range and the wood treatment plant is a natural next step. The plant will be highly automated, with scope for further development in the future,” says Johan Padel, CEO of Holmen Timber.

Making up a large part of what builders’ merchants sell in Sweden, treated wood is used for projects such as terraces, jetties and fencing. Pressure treatment gives the wood a longer life and minimises the risk of attack from wood-decaying fungi and insects.

“Demand for treated wood products is growing and with Braviken’s central location in a densely populated region, we have excellent opportunities to reach out to builders’ merchants with our expanded product range. The wood treatment plant is scheduled to be up and running from winter 2016/2017, so we expect to be able to deliver decking for next summer’s construction and DIY projects,” relates Henrik Sjölund, President and CEO of Holmen.

Holmen’s bio co-location in Braviken makes full use of the whole tree. Wood chips from the sawmill serve as a raw material in pulp production and by-products such as bark and wood shavings are used as biofuel to produce energy and district heating. The circle is closed when the surplus heat from the paper mill is used in the drying process at the sawmill.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures consumer board, paper and wood products and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2015 Holmen’s net sales were SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,300 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

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Wednesday, 16 March 2016 09:17

Holmen to divest its newsprint mill in Spain

holmen logoHolmen has signed an agreement to sell its newsprint mill in Madrid, Spain, including energy and recycled paper operations. The buyer, International Paper, will convert the mill into containerboard production.

“This transaction allows us to focus on developing our successful speciality paper strategy at our Swedish mills,” says Henrik Sjölund, Holmen CEO and President. “Holmen has the base in renewable forest and energy assets supplemented by industrial operations in paperboard, printing paper and sawn timber. After the sale of the Madrid mill, the printing paper operations have the potential to deliver good profitability.”

International Paper will continue to produce newsprint at the mill until the second half of 2017 when it is scheduled to be converted into containerboard. During this period, Holmen will sell the newsprint produced at the mill and continue to serve its customers.

Included in the transaction is also the recycled paper collector Cartón y Papel Reciclado S.A. (Carpa) and Holmen´s 50 per cent shareholding in the energy producer Peninsular Cogeneración S.A.

Holmen’s first quarter operating profit will be negatively impacted by SEK 300 million, which will be reported as item affecting comparability. Cash-flow, excluding working capital, will be positively impacted by SEK 500 million upon closing of the transaction which is expected in the second quarter of 2016. The financial effects of selling newsprint from the Madrid mill during the period until conversion is expected to be limited.

Closing of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, including anti-trust approval.

This is information that Holmen AB is obliged to disclose under the Swedish Securities Market Act and the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on 16 March 2016 at 08.00 CET.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures paperboard, printing paper and sawn timber and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2015 Holmen’s net sales were SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,300 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

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Monday, 23 November 2015 10:41

Holmen: Fire at Hallsta Paper Mill

A fire broke out on Friday evening at Hallsta Paper Mill in Hallstavik, outside Norrtälje, Sweden. No-one was injured, but production has been stopped.

2015 11 23 104236The fire took place in the pulp factory in the north of the factory site. It was put out by the emergency services, and clean-up efforts began immediately at Friday night. The two paper machines at the mill were not affected or damaged by the fire.

Paper production has been halted until activities in the fire-damaged pulp factory can be resumed. The current assessment is that it will be possible to start up the pulp factory again, in any case partially, within two to three weeks.

“We’re initiating immediate dialogue with those customers next in line for deliveries from the mill, and we’ll be doing our utmost to ensure that our customers are affected to as minor an extent as possible,” says Nils Ringborg, CEO at Holmen Paper.

An investigation into the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage is in progress. The incident is expected to have a negative impact on results for the fourth quarter amounting to SEK 30 million.

This is information that Holmen AB is obliged to disclose under the Swedish Securities Market Act and the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on 22 November 2015 at 17:15 CET.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures paperboard, printing paper and sawn timber and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2014 Holmen’s net sales were SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,400 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

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The board of the Holmen Group, which includes Iggesund Paperboard, decided on Wednesday to give the green light for investments totalling EUR 60 million in Iggesund’s mills at Iggesund, Sweden and Workington, England.

workington mill

At Iggesund the investments will eliminate bottlenecks in pulp production so it can be increased from the current 370,000 tonnes to 420,000 tonnes. The target for the board mill is to increase the capacity by 10 per cent without investments.

“After we brought the new recovery boiler on line and developed our purification systems for both air and water, the mill now has unused potential, in both the pulp and board mill, which we can activate,” comments Olov Winblad von Walter, Director of Iggesund Mill. “This is exciting because we are taking yet another step towards being one of the world’s leaders in mill technology with the lowest environmental impact. This move also further reinforces our competitiveness in the form of lower variable costs.”

igge sundThe investment in Workington will increase the mill’s paperboard production capacity from the current 200,000 tonnes to 220,000 tonnes. This investment will also make the mill a leader in folding box board technology thanks to a rebuild of the paperboard machine’s press section which will increase product quality. The rebuild will be completed by June 2016.

“We are experiencing strong demand for our improved Incada, not least because European converters regard it as the paperboard with the best runnability for applications involving mass-market consumer products,” comments Ulf Löfgren, Managing Director of Iggesund’s mill at Workington. “In that situation of course it is positive that we can increase our capacity so more people can benefit from Incada’s advantages.”

“We see no difficulty in increasing Incada’s presence in Europe,” adds Arvid Sundblad, Vice President Sales and Marketing at Iggesund. “Our market share has been limited by our capacity. The planned capacity increase combined with Incada’s recognised quality and our service gives us a excellent position.”

Over a five-year period Iggesund Paperboard has invested strongly in strengthening its competitiveness via lower energy costs, whilst simultaneously minimising its use of fossil fuels. A total of EUR 361 million has been used for this purpose in both Workington and Iggesund. The investments announced now are more focused on increasing production.

“We have reduced our environmental impact and also taken control of our energy costs,” Sundblad concludes. “We are well equipped to face tougher competition in the paperboard market but above all with regard to other types of packaging material. Our strategy is organic growth and for Workington, this is the first step in that direction. The announced investments will give us an excellent market position in terms of both product quality and capacity.”

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Friday, 28 November 2014 21:15

Arne Wallin is Leaving Holmen

holmen logoAfter 27 years with the Group, Arne Wallin, CEO of the business area Holmen Energi, has decided to leave Holmen.

“During his time with the Group, Arne Wallin has been mill manager at Braviken Paper Mill, CEO of the business area Holmen Paper and, for the past few years, CEO of Holmen Energi. Arne has overseen several major investment projects in Braviken and most recently led Holmen’s investments in wind power. His extensive knowledge and experience have been of great importance in supporting our ability to implement our own large-scale projects. Arne has also developed and rationalised our printing paper business during challenging times,” says Henrik Sjölund, President and CEO of Holmen.

Arne Wallin will leave his post at the start of 2015. From 15 January, Staffan Jonsson will be acting CEO of Holmen Energi, alongside his regular position as head of Group Technology.

This is information that Holmen AB is obliged to disclose under the Swedish Securities Market Act and the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on 28 November 2014 at 11.00 CET.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures printing paper, paperboard and sawn timber and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2013 Holmen’s net sales were approx. SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,700 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

Contacts

Holmen
Ingela Carlsson
Communications Director
tel. +46 702 12 97 12

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Friday, 21 November 2014 09:00

Holmen: New Product Reduces Newsprint Capacity

holmen logoHolmen Paper (STO:HOLMA)(STO:HOLMB) is launching a new product in the SC segment in spring 2015, which will reduce the company’s production of newsprint. “This new initiative will quickly bring about a significant change in newsprint volumes,” comments sales and marketing director Karolina Svensson.

Intensive preparations are under way on PM 53 at Braviken Paper Mill outside Norrköping, Sweden, for the conversion work that is scheduled to begin at the end of January next year. PM 53 is Braviken’s largest machine, with an annual capacity of 310 000 tonnes for the current product mix. The machine produces Holmen NEWS (newsprint) and Holmen XLNT – the uncoated magazine paper that makes up Holmen Paper’s single biggest product family.

It is the production of newsprint for export outside the Nordic region that is going to be reduced when the new product is introduced next year.

“We are predicting a rapid rise in volumes for the new product,” says Karolina Svensson. “The aim is to achieve an annualised running rate for production and sales of more than 100 000 tonnes by the end of 2015.

“We’ll be reducing the production of newsprint at a corresponding rate, and in the longer term we’ll only keep the volumes to supply our local markets in Scandinavia.”

Holmen Paper judges that its own measures, combined with previously announced capacity closures elsewhere in the market, will considerably improve capacity utilisation for newsprint in 2015.

Holmen is a forest industry group that manufactures printing paper, paperboard and sawn timber and runs forestry and energy production operations. In 2013 Holmen’s net sales were approx. SEK 16 billion and the group has approx. 3,700 employees. Holmen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. For more information, visit www.holmen.com

This is information that Holmen AB is obliged to disclose under the Swedish Securities Market Act and the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on 19 November 2014 at 14.00 CET.

Contacts

Holmen
Jonas Lindell
Communications Manager
tel. +46 (0)70-323 20 13
E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Together with investment fund Eurofideme 2, Holmen (STO:HOLMA)(STO:HOLMB) has decided to build a wind farm in the municipality of Norrtälje in a jointly-owned company. The annual production is an estimated 165 GWh and the wind farm is planned to commence operation in autumn 2014.

Eurofideme 2, a renewable energy infrastructure fund of Mirova*, has acquired half the shares in the company that Holmen founded to run wind power production on its own land in the municipality of Norrtälje near Hallsta Paper Mill. The decision now marks the start of installation of 17 wind turbines with an installed power capacity of a total 51 MW and an expected annual production of 165 GWh. An environmental permit has already been obtained. According to the plan, the turbines will be taken into operation in autumn 2014.

“This project will exploit Holmen’s excellent opportunities to produce wind power on its own land,” says Holmen’s President and CEO Magnus Hall. “It is also an important element in our focus on renewable energy, set to increase our self-sufficiency in electricity.”

“It is a great opportunity for Eurofideme 2 to be co-investing in this project of national interest for wind in the Stockholm County with a high quality partner like Holmen” commented Raphael Lance, Director of Eurofideme 2.

The cost of constructing the wind farm is an estimated SEK 650 million and will be financed by a bank loan to the jointly-owned company plus capital from shareholders Holmen and Eurofideme 2. Holmen’s investment will largely be met by income from the sale of shares in the company, and the transaction will therefore not have any noticeable effect on Holmen’s cash flow. The transaction will affect Holmen Energi’s operating profit in the second quarter by approximately SEK 100 million.

* Eurofideme 2, a fund managed by Mirova Environment and Infrastructure and part of Mirova, the Responsible Investment division of Natixis Asset Management, is investing through its wholly-owned subsidiary Wotan SA.

This is information that Holmen AB is obliged to disclose under the Swedish Securities Market Act and the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. Submitted for publication on 17 May at 15.30.

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