Norway's Norske Skog Plans to Invest NOK 850 Million to Upgrade Paper Production Line
en.Wedoany.com Reported - Norwegian paper company Norske Skog has approved the upgrade of Paper Machine 6 (PM6) at its Saugbrugs mill in Halden, with a planned investment of up to approximately NOK 850 million. The upgraded equipment will be compatible with the production of thermomechanical pulp-based kraftliner and supercalendered magazine paper, with maximum annual capacities of 300,000 tonnes and 230,000 tonnes respectively, and is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2028.
PM6 was shut down in April 2023 due to a rockslide at the Saugbrugs site. Since then, the mill has continued to produce supercalendered magazine paper using Paper Machines 4 and 5 (PM4, PM5), while evaluating options for rebuilding PM6 and converting its production process. Norske Skog has now decided to adopt an upgrade solution compatible with both paper grades.
The upgraded PM6 will use thermomechanical pulp (TMP) to produce kraftliner. The new product uses high-quality virgin fiber, with a focus on developing low-basis-weight grades. The company's published product technical targets include high compressive strength, low basis weight, good printability, a low fossil carbon footprint, and food-contact suitability.
Norske Skog plans to reduce PM6 operating costs by improving equipment energy efficiency, optimizing production processes, and reducing staffing requirements. After the new production line is commissioned, the mill plans to permanently cease production on PM4 and PM5, while maintaining delivery of existing customer orders during the equipment transition.
Detailed engineering design and preparatory work for the project are underway. Norske Skog intends to sell the PM6 building and related land assets and continue using these facilities through a sale-and-leaseback agreement. At the same time, the company is evaluating the sale of the Saugbrugs administration building and arranging other financing measures to raise the up to NOK 850 million in upgrade funding.
In February 2026, Norske Skog signed a letter of intent with Green Mountain to study the development of a data center project at the Saugbrugs site. An announcement on October 7 confirmed that the data center is planned to have a capacity of 80 to 100 megawatts and is intended to be built on available land at the site; it remains in the development feasibility study stage.
