Industrial operations based on forestry began at Ortviken in the mid-1800s when a timberyard was established at the site.
Interior from Ortviken paper mill 1959
Logs were hewn into square-section beams and used as pit props. Towards the end of the century a sawmill was also built at Ortviken.
During the first half of the 20th century, Ortviken developed into a modern industrial complex and towards the end of the 1950s the focus turned to the production of newsprint. The old sulphite mill, from 1908, was expanded and a new groundwood pulp mill was added.
Two paper machines, PM 1 and PM 2, began operating in 1958. In 1967 a third paper machine, PM 4, went into operation thereby confirming Ortviken’s position as a major producer of newsprint.
A new technique for the production of TMP was developed during the1970s and the result was extremely high fibre quality. During the 1980s the TMP plant was expanded and Ortviken became one of the world’s largest producers of TMP for newsprint. In 1984, the old sulphite mill was closed and groundwood pulp production came to an end.
At the beginning of 1986 yet another paper machine went into operation, PM 5, and at the time it was a true giant among paper machines. In 1990 Ortviken became the first Swedish paper mill to produce a Light Weight Coated (LWC) paper. An old machine, PM 1, was taken out of operation and was replaced by a machine incorporating a coater for production of the new grade. The investment paid off and in 1993 it was decided to replace another newsprint machine, PM 4, with a paper machine for the production of LWC paper. The new machine went into operation early in 1996.
Production is developing continuously to satisfy the market’s demand for improved paper quality. For example, a new pulping and bleaching system has been introduced to produce pulp for the manufacture of low grammage LWC paper.