Lysaker, Norway, 04 February 2011 -- On the morning of 02 February, fire caused damage to part of the thermomechanical pulp plant that supplies the paper machines with fiber at Norske Skog's Saugbrugs mill. Although the fire was quickly brought under control, it caused significant damage to the electrical cabling. No employee was injured as a result of the incident.

All production facilities of the mill have been stopped due to the fire. Norske Skog Saugbrugs has an annual production of 550,000 metric tons of super calendered magazine paper and employs 600 people. Property damages and business interruption are covered by insurance where Norske Skog's self retention is NOK 15 million.

"We are satisfied with the immediate and correct response to the fire from our own employees and the support from the community emergency response services," said Sven Ombudstvedt, Norske Skog's CEO. "We are pleased that no one was injured in connection with the fire. We will do our utmost to re-establish normal production at Saugbrugs as soon as possible."

Based on the initial reports from the mill, Norske Skog expects operations at Saugbrugs to be halted for some time. At present, further information regarding the physical status of the operations is not available. The fire is a force majeure event and Norske Skog has informed customers and suppliers of Saugbrugs about the situation.