Glatfelter Completes Fire Assessment at Scaer Mill in France
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P. H. Glatfelter, York, Pa., USA, reports that it has completed a preliminary assessment of the damage resulting from an October 14 fire at its paper mill in Scaer, France. The fire damaged the electrical system primarily servicing paper machine No. 3 and certain mill infrastructure. There were no injuries or environmental impact to report. While the initial inspection of the mill's two paper machines indicates there was no damage, it may take several weeks to restart the machines following the restoration of electrical equipment and completion of cleanup activities. Paper machine No. 4 is expected to be down approximately three to four weeks and paper machine No. 3 approximately six to eight weeks.
The finishing and shipping operations were not impacted by the incident. Shipment of customer orders resumed within 24 hours and on site inventories are adequate to satisfy orders through mid-November. Given the flexibility of its assets and mill production systems, and available capacity at other company facilities to meet production needs, Glatfelter expects no interruption in its ability to supply customers.
An assessment of the costs for the impact of inventory loss, equipment damage, and clean up costs is underway. Based on its preliminary assessment, the company expects no significant financial impact from this incident as it is expected to be covered by insurance, subject to a deductible of $0.5 million. However, there may be an impact to fourth quarter results due to downtime and the timing of recording costs associated with the fire versus recognition of the insurance recovery under the applicable accounting standards.
The Scaer mill produces specialty papers and wet-laid nonwovens on two inclined wire paper machines for the food and beverage markets as well as technical specialty paper grades. Approximately 130 Glatfelter employees work in this mill.
Glatfelter is a global manufacturer of specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials, with U.S. operations in Spring Grove, Pa., and Chillicothe and Fremont, Ohio. International operations include facilities in Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., and the Philippines, a representative office in China, and a sales and distribution office in Russia. Glatfelter's sales approximate $1.6 billion annually
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