Metsä Tissue has announced that its mills in Western and Eastern Europe will have day-long temporary production stops due to extremely high energy prices.

The stoppages started in the week commencing 11 July in the company’s Kreuzau mill in Germany and its Zilina mill in Slovakia.

Tobias Lüning, SVP, Central Europe, Metsä Tissue, said: “We are diligently taking all actions possible to deliver hygiene necessities to Western and Eastern European markets and we are evaluating the situation daily. “However, there is a risk that out-of-stock situations will occur if these extreme cost conditions prevail.”

The business added that profitability will continue to be reviewed daily and high energy costs may continue to cause temporary production shutdowns.

It said: “The tissue business is very energy intensive and the extremely high energy prices are making the situation critical. “The great volatility in the current business environment and the recent extreme developments in cost inflation have resulted in these temporary production stops.”

The company has been implementing all actions possible to mitigate the price conditions to safeguard the continuity of its operations and to deliver hygiene necessities to its markets.

Despite these actions, the cost situation has emerged critical and is expected to continue very volatile.

The temporary production stops may also result in further challenges in the delivery capability of tissue hygiene products.