Mar 09, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. DS Smith’s UK Paper division, St Regis, has announced the proposed closure of its PM1 paper machine at Kemsley Mill in Kent. PM1 produces approximately 75 thousand tonnes per annum of corrugated case material (CCM), which is used for producing corrugated packaging. It is proposed that the closure will be implemented by the end of April 2009, as the company informed Lesprom Network. St Regis currently operates four paper machines on the Kemsley site, producing a total of over 800 thousand tonnes per annum. PM1 is the oldest of St Regis’s paper machines. Customer expectations regarding the specification of products produced by PM1 continues to increase and this means that considerable investment would be required to ensure the machine’s future competitiveness. In addition there has been a decline in the overall demand for CCM in the UK. In the light of the investment cost and the expectation that the current difficult market conditions will continue for some time, PM1 is no longer considered to be viable. Consultations have commenced with employees and their representatives at Kemsley Mill with a view to minimising the effects of the proposed closure of PM1. If the closure is confirmed, up to 40 roles may become redundant out of the total workforce on the Kemsley site of 575 people. The costs of the proposed closure will be included within the circa GBP 23 million ($32 million) of previously announced exceptional costs associated with the Group’s action programme. The total programme will deliver an annual cash benefit of circa GBP 25 million ($35 million). Kemsley Mill is one of the largest recycled CCM manufacturing sites in Europe, the foremost CCM producer in the UK.