Kondopoga has finally reached commercial production on the new 180,000 tonne/yr newsprint machine at its Kondopoga mill, in the Russian region of Karelia. A spokesman for the firm's Germany-based trading company, Kondopoga International Trading, said the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, visited the mill on July 23 to "push the button" on the new PM. But the machine ran sporadically throughout August due to teething troubles. "Engineers were called to the site in August but it is running well now and the quality is good," the spokesman reported. The source added that output from the new PM will be sold to Kondopoga's 26 export markets. The unit takes the Russian company's total newsprint capacity to 730,000 tonnes/yr. Kondopoga's five other PMs have a combined capacity of 550,000 tonnes/yr. The startup marks the conclusion of a project that has spanned more than a decade. The PM was originally slated to come online in 1994 but lack of funding stalled the scheme. Kondopoga had assembled most of the PM when it signed up Sandusky Walmsley to supply the remaining 30% of the equipment in 2000. The unit was finally ready at the end of last year, but Kondopoga postponed the startup until the newsprint market picked up.