Parenco

Parenco B.V.

File:Parenco logo.png
Type	Besloten vennootschap
Industry	Pulp and paper
Headquarters	Renkum, Netherlands
Key people	Frans Versteeg (general manager)
Products	Magazine paper
Number of employees	260 (2012)
Website	parenco.com

Parenco B.V. is a pulp mill and paper mill located in Renkum, Netherlands, on the shore of the Rhine. Its only remaining paper machine, PM1, produces a mix of newsprint and supercalander-B magazine paper. The mill was established on the site of an older mill in 1912 by Van Gelder & Zonen. The two original paper machines were replaced by PM2 in 1979. Haindl took over ownership in 1983, starting up PM1 in 1987. Norske Skog owned the mill from 2001 to 2012.

History

File:Parenco07havenoostwaarts.jpg

The port area

Papermaking has taken place in Renkum since 1598, with the establishment of The Block. Harten was established as a paper mill in 1720. It was bought by Van Gelder & Zonen in 1907, who established a new mill, Renkum 2, in 1912. It featured two paper machines, mostly producing newsprint. They remained in use until 1979, when both were closed down and replaced with a new paper machine, PM2. Van Gelder filed for bankruptcy, but operations in Renkum continued with the independent company Parenco B.V.

German pulp and paper company Haindl bought Parenco in 1983, naming it Haindl Parenco. They invested to allow for a second paper machine, PM1, which started running in 1987. PM2 was upgraded in 1989, PM1 in 1998.

The owners of the family-owned Haindl consortium decided to sell the company in 2000. It was bought in a joint deal, where UPM took over four and Norske Skog bought two of the mills—Parenco and Walsum. The deal took effect on 30 November 2001, with Norske Skog paying 8.2 billion Norwegian krone for the two mills. Norske Skog was in a process of specialization, selling all non-core assets while purchasing a dominant position in the world's newsprint and magazine paper market.

The mill was renamed Norske Skog Parenco. As of 2005 it produced 419,000 tonnes of newsprint and magazine paper. Fiber was sourced 75 percent from deinked pulp and 25 percent for woodpulp processed as thermomechanical pulp (TMP), imported from Germany and Belgium. Due to the global decline in newsprint demand, Norske Skog shut down PM2 in June 2009. This resulted in the number of employees being reduced from 425 to 255. Meanwhile the TMP production and one of the deinking lines was terminated.

Norske Skog sold Parenco and the recycling company Reparco to H2 Equity Partners in August 2012 for €30 million. H2 stated that they hoped to find new market segments to produce other paper grades two and had a long-term goal of restarting PM2.

Operation

File:Parenco12looppadpapiermachine.jpg

Inside the mill

One paper machine (PM1) have a combined production capacity of 260,000 tonnes of magazine paper per year, with 260 employees. For the production of newsprint, the mill uses recovered paper. The recovered paper mainly comes from waste paper collected at households. he Netherlands rank among the top recycling countries in the world. From the total amount of waste paper recycling in the Netherlands (approximately 77 percent), Parenco reproduces some 16 percent into new paper.

In addition, improved newsprint grades NorX and Norbright are also procuded. Norbright has an increased whiteness, varying from 65 to 72% ISO, and can be used for both heat set as cold set printing. NorX (with whiteness varying from 59, 68 and 72% ISO) is specifically designed for heat set and flexo printing, providing a glossy look, enhanced print contrast and increased dot sharpness. These improved newsprint grades are ideal for the printing of catalogues, magazines and supplements, direct mail and other advertising media.

Parenco’s main markets are the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom and Ireland.