How is newsprint made?

Our paper is made exclusively from recycled fibres. Starting in 2023, we no longer use wood fibres to make our newsprint.

At Norske Skog Golbey, we manufacture the paper pulp for our newsprint ourselves. Producing our own paper pulp gives us greater flexibility in the management of our supplies and control over the quality of our finished products.

To make our paper pulp, we use 450,000 tonnes of newspapers, magazines and advertisements. This is equivalent to the sorted waste collection from about 60% of households in France.

By buying the paper to be recycled from our suppliers, we offer them a waste management solution that is both economical and ecological.

Always focused on customer satisfaction, we pay particular attention to the manufacture and traceability of our paper reels. Our mill has two of the best-performing paper machines in Europe. One of them is currently being converted to make containerboard that will be sold to corrugators.

Regardless of the machine and the type of paper, the fundamental steps in papermaking have been the same for centuries:

Forming the sheet – pressing it – drying it

Thanks to our modern mill and techniques, we can produce over 300,000 tonnes of newsprint per year.

Finishing involves taking a mother reel of paper and cutting it into smaller reels. To do this, we have two automated winding machines that take the sheet, cut it to the size required by our customers and wind it automatically.

The role of our winders is still essential, though, because they carry out visual checks and hardness tests on each reel before the packaging process, which is also automatic.

The packaging line measures the characteristics of the reel and checks that it meets the customer’s needs.

Each reel is carefully packaged for protection before being transported by our conveyor to the warehouse for storage.

In September 2013, Norske Skog Golbey embarked on the automation of its newsprint storage and shipping warehouse. The entire system was installed gradually, which required significant work and a total investment of about €5 million.

Today, a fleet of 12 automated vehicles takes care of handling of our reels. The benefits have been many:

• Greater safety for our operators
• No damaged or spoiled reels
• Seamless controlled flows
• Reduced costs