The closure of the Flagstaff tissue production plant is part of SCA’s Tissue Roadmap and is aligned with the company’s strategy to optimise the geographic production footprint to drive cost and capital efficiency and further increase value creation in the Professional Hygiene business area.

The Flagstaff tissue production plant has an annual capacity of 55,000 tonnes for the Professional Hygiene business. Production will be discontinued in June 2017, the company reports.

The restructuring costs for the closure are expected to amount to approximately SEK 250 million and will be recognised as an item affecting comparability, mainly taken in the second quarter of 2017. Approximately SEK 40 million of these costs are expected to impact cash flow.

SCA, with the leading brand Tork, is the second largest player in the US professional hygiene market. The US is the Group’s largest market, based on net sales in 2016, and is highly prioritized by SCA. The company sustainably develops, produces and sells personal care, tissue and forest products. Through the recently acquired company BSN medical, the Group offer products within wound care, compression therapy and orthopedics.

As Europe’s largest private forest owner, SCA places considerable emphasis on sustainable forest management. In 2016, the Group had approximately 46,000 employees and sales amounted to approximately SEK 117 billion (EUR 12.4 billion). SCA was founded in 1929, has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

www.sca.com