SAICA starts production at new paper mill
Spanish multi-national paper and packaging manufacturer SAICA has started production at its new £300m recycled paper mill in Trafford.
The company, which won permission for the factory in 2008, said it was the first new paper mill to be built in the UK for decades.
It will use recovered paper from the UK to produce 400,000 tonnes of 100% recycled containerboard each year.
SAICA says this will reduce carbon emissions by 84,011 tonnes a year by cutting the amount of used paper that is sent for export by 450,000 tonnes a year.
The site at Partington, which employs around 200 staff, also has a combined heat and power station and an advanced effluent treatment plant.
Erkki Savolainen, project director for the mill, said: "Everybody involved in the project is delighted that we have been able to produce paper here in Partington ahead of schedule.
"It's a huge boost for Partington and we're working hard to become a long term part of the community, employing people from the local community where we can."
SAICA is a family-owned Spanish company which employs 8,000 people in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and the UK. It has an annual turnover of £1.5bn.
The main construction contractor was Bury-based Cheetham Hill Construction and the engineer was Cheadle-based GHA Livigunn.
I think you will find the Cheetham Hill were the ground works contractors and the engineers were Idom and Poyry
By Anom
Cheetham Hill Construction have carried out 6 seperate contracts on this site with a total value in excess of £18 million. These contracts included the site clearance, the total remediation of the site, the construction of the Effluent Treatment plant, all infrastructure works, the main outfall into the Manchester ship canal, and the site completion works.
By ANOM