paper, cardboard, packaging, paper machines, tissue, printing
Cepi preliminary statistics for 2025 show European paper and board production decreased by 1.5%. The drop is similarly experienced by most global competitors. In Europe, the industry has capitalised on its leading position in bio-based and circular materials creating resilience.
The Confederation of European Paper Industries (Cepi) calls on the European Parliament to ratify of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA), emphasising its potential to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers and foster growth for European pulp and paper companies, which are some of the strongest exporters amongst EU manufacturing sectors.
It’s a material that we ask to carry a lot, both literally and metaphorically. When you need to send important information, you use paper documents. When you need to protect heavy or fragile items, you can pack them in heavyweight boxes made of corrugated board. And, on a deeper level, paper also carries the dyes, pigments, and messages that bring brands to life in their packaging, labels, and marketing collateral.
In spring 2025, UPM announced plans to permanently close its paper mill in Ettringen, Germany. The respective employee consultation process has been completed now. The closing impacts 189 employees.
Following the closure, UPM’s uncoated mechanical paper production capacity will be reduced by 270.000 tonnes annually. Graphic paper production in Ettringen will be discontinued on December 31, 2025. To ensure safe conditions at the mill following the closure, an after-care team will be installed.
Mondi, a global leader in sustainable packaging and paper, welcomed international customers and partners to celebrate the inauguration of its state-of-the-art paper machine at its Štětí mill in the Czech Republic.
Cepi calls on European Union Member States and EU Parliament to promptly ratify the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA), to ensure a level playing field and open new markets for the European pulp and paper industry.
With the demand for sustainability showing no signs of slowing down and brands and retailers under increasing pressure to move away from plastics wherever possible, paper is firmly back in the spotlight as the darling of the packaging industry.
Paper’s roots can be traced back to Ancient Egypt and the use of papyrus as a paper-like plant-based writing sheet. The first true papermaking process was documented in China during the Eastern Han period (25–220 AD), but it wasn’t until the 11th Century that papermaking was brought to Europe.
To meet the growing demand for resource-efficient, sustainable packaging solutions, Holmen has developed Holmen Elevate, a lightweight kraftliner.
Holmen Elevate is the lightest kraftliner on the market, available in 72, 82 and 92 gsm. The kraftliner is well suited for e-commerce, shelf-ready and food packaging applications where both sustainability and performance are essential.
Driven by structural overcapacity in the graphic paper markets and the need to ensure long-term competitiveness of its operations, UPM Communication Papers plans to end paper production at UPM Kaukas paper mill, Finland, reducing the annual production capacity of coated mechanical paper by 300,000 tonnes.
The shutdown of the paper machine (PM 1) is planned for the end of the year 2025. UPM’s pulp, sawn timber and biofuels production and R&D activities at UPM Kaukas integrate will continue as before.
Sappi Europe, a leading producer of graphic papers, announces the expansion of its Galerie portfolio with the launch of Galerie Book, a mechanical uncoated paper tailored to the specific needs of the book publishing market. Produced at Sappi's world-leading Kirkniemi Mill in Finland, this strategic product expansion builds on Sappi's strengths and addresses the growing need for reliable, sustainable, and versatile book paper options.
