Loss-making Maryvale Pulpmill to close
Australian Paper mill at Maryvale in the Latrobe Valley could close if it can’t find a way to make a profit. Australia’s biggest forest-devouring pulp and paper mill has been losing money for years.
The Japanese owners have said:
Japanese paper manufacturer Nippon Paper Industries (NPI), shares the long term vision of continuing to manufacture paper in Australia but needs to see financial improvement.
Nippon has just decided to close its Shoalhaven mill in NSW and is now considering closing its loss-making Maryvale mill by the looks. The mill is struggling with the sky-rocketing gas prices (their main energy source) as well as with competition from increasing imports of overseas paper. VicForests couldn’t possibly sell our forests any cheaper (you’d hope!) so the mill’s days could be numbered.
Read more here
Don’t forget to help this situation along and boycott Reflex paper folks! www.ethicalpaper.com.au/
Profit could be easily made if this mill used domestic paper scrap to make the paper but it is more expensive that native forest wood chip that is almost free. Visy paper is making huge profit from paper using this low grade paper scrap for over 50 years. Ecocern P/L has been converting this Visy paper into copy paper for the past 40 years. If finance or grants etc could be arranged Ecocern Pty Ltd would be too happy to take over this mill and produce brown and white clay cote copy paper that is real 100% post-consumer recycled. See ecocern.com for products available already.
The logical solution Michael – it’s just a shame our governments don’t operate on logic, but politics and deals donations from mates.
And given we have labor governments in most states to appease the F in CFMEU couldn’t each state set up local collection eg with local councils (and Officeworks etc picking it up when they deliver to offices etc)of used copy paper and truck it to the Maryvale Mill ( for no more subsidy probably than is currently paid to the mill and Vicforests.
This is not rocket surgery – a fairly easy way to keep jobs ( create a few more) and most importantly end the ridiculous destruction to native forests.
Hi Andrew,
Correct. White high grade office scrap is in very short supply and expensive when low grade paper scrap that Visy paper use in available in glut proportions. Visy makes huge profit from making paper from his paper scrap. Ecocern gray brown copy paper is made from this Visy liner and works better in laser printers as thicker. It would be easy to white clay coat this paper in production but Visy is struggling to keep up with demand for their products. German copy paper factories use clay to whiten 100% post-consumer recycled white copy paper paper. If the money that was wasted on grants to Nippon Daishou was given to Ecocern P/L there would not the the current closure problems, clearly demonstrated by Visy paper as being very viable. Visy also grow pine timber for high strength brown paper that is viable as well. It appears that Nipon Daishou (King Of Paper in Japanese) is just pushing for more money. They are to lazy to grow their own wood chip and they think that can continue to take our precious native forest for almost free.