Oct 02, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. Smurfit Kappa Group plc, announced its plans to cease production at its Smurfit Kappa Sturovo AS (Sturovo) mill in Slovakia and to open discussions immediately with its employees and the local authorities. The Sturovo mill has a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of semi-chemical fluting and currently employs 350 people. The planned closure is as a result of the excess capacity in the European containerboard market combined with the effect of the global economic downturn which has resulted in significantly reduced demand. Furthermore, the advances made in the recycled containerboard industry have resulted in the widespread availability of the less expensive but equally strong high performance fluting. Further factors contributing to the proposal to close the mill have been currency swings and, in Smurfit Kappa’s view, unwarranted government aid for new recycled capacity additions in Central and Eastern Europe. The combination of all these factors has made the Sturovo mill unviable, the company said. Smurfit Kappa Group is a world leader in paper-based packaging with operations in Europe and Latin America.