January / February 2023 Industry 4 Mills across Europe reassess options Paper mills around Europe are reassessing their operations and making adjustments as energy prices continue to increase. Interestingly, some of these changes are also set to benefit the environment. The cost of energy has been an ongoing issue for mills for some time with Print Monthly reporting the first hints of trouble in 2021. At the start of 2022, Metsä Tissue announced it was temporarily halting its production due to the high electricity cost with both its Zilina Mills in Slovakia and its Kreuzau Mills in Germany stopping production for several days. In the summer of 2022, Lessebo Paper was forced to halt production in Sweden citing the same reasons. According to the company, its electricity cost had escalated from €3m (£2.6m) to €19m (£16.3m) per year. The autumn/winter period of 2022 proved to be no better with energy prices continuing to rise at unprecedented levels. Other mills and paper manufacturers are now assessing the way they use energy. UPM has opened a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Germany in a bid to become more efficient amidst the current energy crisis. Koehler Paper (part of Koehler Group) has signed a long-term green power agreement with RWE Supply & Trading. The ten-year contract is for up to 175,000-megawatt hours per year from 2023. This power will come from the Dutch 54-megawatt Waddenwind wind farm in the Groningen region. European manufacturer and distributor of specialty paper for labels and flexible packaging, Lecta, has invested in a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) boiler at its Condat paper mill in France. Based on a circular economy, the RDF boiler will collect waste with high biogenic content from local sources to then be used as fuel. The boiler, which will cover about 50% of the mill’s steam usage, is much less expensive than using natural gas. UPM has invested €100m (£87m) in a combined heat and power plant in Germany XSYS confirms price increase on products XSYS has announced a price increase for all products and spare parts across its ThermoFlexX pre-press portfolio as a result of the “critical global economic situation” that continues to drive up costs for its pre-press equipment division. ThermoFlexX imagers and ThermoFlexX Catena prices will increase 10% across the board, while spare parts and service agreements will see a 20% rise as these offerings were not included in previous increases. While raw materials, energy, and other input costs already increased by between 10% and 20% throughout 2021, XSYS says double-digit percentage inflation continued in 2022, further compounding financial pressures on the sector. Ongoing issues include supply shortages in the steel and plastics markets, global shortages of parts and supply chain issues within the electronics sector, and how volatile gas and electricity prices are affecting production costs and raw materials. XSYS has also announced an increase in the price of its nyloprint letterpress plates. Nyloprint offers plates in the areas of moulding and stamping, security print, tubes, cups, and cans, as well as pad printing. The company which has offices in North America, Belgium, China, and Germany, has sent a formal notice to customers informing them of the increase which became effective from January 1st, 2023. So far the business has been able to offset a proportion of ongoing increases against various efficiency measures, however, feels it has to act now to encourage the ongoing growth of the market. Global commercial vice president at XSYS, Friedrich von Rechteren, states: “XSYS is committed to delivering best-in-class products to all customers despite the unprecedented cost pressures and the challenging supply chain situation. “When securing contract terms for 2023, we have again seen significant base price increases from our suppliers, which are especially impacting the XSYS nyloprint portfolio. The challenge of securing the transportation for special materials and rising energy costs have all affected the industry By Carys Evans Editor @printmonthlyed of steam usage covered by RDF boiler 50% By Rob Fletcher & David Osgar
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