Voreppe, France 24 November 2014 -- The former Vertaris mill in Voreppe might restart operations in mid-2015. Delion France announced that production of deinked pulp would then be resumed after the installation of a pulp dryer. The initial production is put at 140,000 tpy.

Delion France plans to resume deinked pulp production at the former Vertaris mill in Voreppe at the end of the second quarter of 2015. The company announced it had acquired the pulp dryer of the Lielahti mill made idle by Metsä Board in 2008. The dryer as well as the bailing equipment are to be installed during the first quarter next year in order to start operating at the middle of the year.

Delion said it also expected cellulose-based insulation material production to be resumed at that date. The company currently is in talks with an external partner who will manage these operations.

In Voreppe, Delion will produce about 140,000 tpy of deinked market pulp for the printing and writing, paperboard and tissue markets to start with. Production is planned to be gradually increased to 200,000 tpy. The start-up will create 70 new jobs, the company told EUWID.

Delion France is a subsidiary of investment firm Springwater Capital. The company took over the tangible assets of the mill of defunct paper and deinked pulp manufacturer Vertaris in March this year. Vertaris was liquidated in 2012.