(News from RISI) – SCA has announced its intention to focus its production in Spain on its plants in Valls, Tarragona and Allo, Navarre.
As a result, the firm intends to close its Carmona facility near Seville and to transfer the site’s converting activities to Allo.
Moreover, the converting activities of SCA’s Mediona mill near Barcelona will also be moved to Allo, while tissue production there will continue.
According to SCA, the planned measures aim to secure its short- and long-term competitiveness in Spain and to set the stage for future growth. “[The Allo and Valls facilities] are the best suited mills due to their technical standards, they have the best geographical locations and [give] SCA the possibility to grow the plants in the future,” SCA said in a statement.
SCA’s Allo mill has a production capacity of 160,000tpy of tissue on three machines, while the Valls site can manufacture some 120,000 tonnes/yr on two PMs. The firm’s La Riba facility in Tarragona, which is part of the Valls mill and churns out around 45,000tpy on two machines, is not affected by the planned measures.
Regarding the planned stop of converting activities at Mediona and the closure of the Carmona plant, SCA said that the converting operations at Mediona are not economically viable due to high costs and the facility’s inability to expand.
“Carmona is not efficient since Allo’s converting capacity is significantly underused,” the firm said.
SCA added that the planned closure of the Carmona plant will affect 24 employees.
The company has entered into negotiations with worker representatives in order to minimise the impact on the employees. SCA expects the consultation period to last up to 50 days.
“We are looking into possibilities to accommodate relocation of some of the affected employees to other mills in Spain.
“Our intention is to finalise the negotiation process by the end of the year and continue to implement the changes during 2014,” a spokesperson told PPI Europe.
José Ramón Iracheta, SCA country manager Spain, said: “We are fully aware of the impact that this decision will have on our employees at Mediona and Carmona.
“This is not a measure we have undertaken lightly; on the contrary, it follows a thorough analysis and consideration of the best possible way to secure our business continuity and future in Spain.
“We are confident that this process will allow us to strengthen our business here in Spain.”
