Smurfit-Stone Prepares for a Major Maintenance Shutdown at Louisiana Paper Mill

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (Nasdaq: SSCC) (Chicago, Illinois) has scheduled June 6th to begin an annual maintenance shutdown of a mill in Hodge, Louisiana. Downtime at the mill is expected to last as much as eighteen days, mainly due to cleaning and repair of the mill's No. 2 black liquor recovery boiler.

Repairs and equipment replacements will take place throughout the various production areas of the mill. Key components of the mill include a woodyard, four paper machines, a combination fueled boiler, a power boiler, two recovery boilers, electrical generation units, and effluent treatment systems. Last November, two continuous digesters used for processing semi-chemical pulp were shutdown indefinitely. Annually, Smurfit-Stone Container spends millions of dollars on maintenance and towards the preservation of its production assets.

Pulp and paper production first started at Hodge in 1926. Today, the mill produces approximately 1,900 tons-a-day of pulp, paper, and paperboard products, including kraft wrapping papers, bag, semi-chemical corrugating medium, and linerboard.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation a leading integrated manufacturer of paperboard and paper-based packaging. Smurfit-Stone is a leading producer of containerboard, including white top linerboard and recycled medium; corrugated containers; point-of-purchase displays; multiwall and specialty bags; and clay-coated recycled boxboard; and is the world's largest paper recycler. The company operates approximately 275 facilities, located primarily in the US, Canada and Mexico, and employs approximately 38,000 people.