Norske Skog
The Boyer Mill is situated on the banks of the Derwent estuary near New Norfolk and has been operating for more than seventy years. The mill pioneered the manufacture of newsprint from eucalyptus but recent modifications have seen the mill switch to using only Radiata pine from local plantations – a totally renewable raw material.
The mill has the capacity to manufacture approximately 300,000 tonnes per annum of newsprint but is restricted by the pulping plants to 260,000 tonnes per annum. With the exception of local demand, all finished paper products are transported by rail to the Burnie port and then on to mainland and overseas customers.
The Boyer mill supplies over 30% of the newsprint and improved newsprint grades used by the Australian market place.
Logs are chipped then pulped using a Thermal Mechanical Process (TMP) using local electrical energy. The mill is the fourth largest user of electrical energy in Tasmania. Pulp is converted to paper on two paper machines that were significantly upgraded and modernised during the 1990′s.
Boyer Mill Future – LWC Paper Machine No 2 is being converted from a Newsprint machine to one capable of producing Light Weight Coated (LWC) paper. The modified machine will produce 140,000 tonnes pa for the existing Australian market that uses 400,000 tonnes pa of LWC paper, which is being fully imported from overseas. PM2 will produce magazine & catalogue grades as well still being able to produce high whites, newsprint, telephone directory & book paper at a design speed of 1300 m/min. The conversion phase will take approximately 18 months to complete with first grade paper being made by the 1st April 2014. The conversion cost is approximately $85M and includes support from both Federal and State Governments. The LWC sheet is made up of a 40gsm base sheet paper with a 7gsm coating or more on each side.
The LWC paper will be a lot denser than the current paper (1200 kg/m3 compared to 660 kg/m3) and will have a glossy surface