One of Europe’s most modern newsprint mills is set to close with UPM’s decision to shutter capacity at its Hürth location in Germany.

UPM Communication Papers says it plans to permanently close the Hürth newsprint mill and to shut down a fine paper machine at Nordland Papier in Dörpen. The closures would see a cut of 330,000 tonnes of newsprint capacity and 280,000 tonnes of uncoated paper, in what the company describes as “a continuation of necessary steps to proactively align with customer demand and ensure competitiveness”.

An estimated 135 jobs are affected in Hürth and 210 in Dörpen, with both machines stopping graphic paper production by the end of this year “at the latest”. The other Nordland Papier machines will continue as before.

Executive vice president Antti Jääskeläinen says the planned closures will enable UPM Communication Papers to stay “a reliable partner to our customers in the long run”.

The plans would strengthen the company’s overall cost competitiveness; UPM would recognise restructuring charges of 113 million Euros (A$184 million) as “items affecting comparability” in its Q2 2024 result. The planned actions are estimated to result in annual fixed cost savings of 45 million Euros (A$73.4 million).

Founded in 2002, Hürth has one of the most modern paper machines in Europe, producing newsprint from 100 per cent recovered paper.