Holmen Paper has postponed restarting the PM 11 production line at its Hallsta Paper Mill in Hallstavik, Sweden until mid-March.

The machine has not been in operation since a fire stopped production at the mill on 20th November last year.

The clean up after the fire has been completed, and that has enabled a better assessment of the damage caused.

An investigation into the cause of the incident shows that the fire arose next to a rotating axle, the heat from which caused smouldering that rapidly spread. Book paper machine PM 12 was restarted earlier but PM 11 will not be restarted for another two months.

Holmen Paper chief executive Nils Ringborg said: “The damage proved to be more extensive than it was initially possible to gain an overview of. So the assessment is that PM 11 will be restarted in mid-March.

“We have a close dialogue with our customers so we can manage the new schedule while reviewing all opportunities to shorten the start-up time.” PM 11 manufactures fresh fibre-based magazine paper such as Holmen View and Holmen XLNT, with an annual capacity of 330,000 tonnes.

The fire took place in the mill area of the pulp factory in the north of the factory site. There were no injuries or stock damages and the two paper machines at the mill were not affected. However, other manufacturing and electricity equipment was damaged. Holmen manufactures paperboard, printing paper and sawn timber and runs forestry and energy production operations.