Arup, supported by architects AHR, will work with the mill’s new Turkish owner, Eren Holdings, to develop expansion plans to redevelop the mill as part of a £600m investment promised for the local area.
Former owner UPM closed paper production at the Shotton newsprint mill site in Deeside in September 2021 after selling the site to Eren Paper, a subsidiary of Modern Karton Sanayi Ve Ticaret AŞ, the containerboard and corrugated packaging business of the Turkish industrial conglomerate Eren Holding.
UPM Shotton had been set up in 1983 and had capacity to produce 260,000 tonnes of newsprint paper a year. Recycled paper and other recyclable materials, including household glass and plastics, are brought to site for reprocessing.
Eren plans to produce up to 750,000 tonnes of cardboard a year and also have the capacity to recycle all the wastepaper generated throughout Wales.
The Arup-led team will provide project management, design and engineering for the project’s first phase, which is due to be fully operational in 2024.
The expansion will include a container board machine building, new warehouse and dispatch facilities, and a combined heat and power boiler building. Subsequent phases of the project will include a corrugated packaging factory and tissue factory.
Arup director Andy Pennington said: “This development will create one of the most technologically advanced paper mills in the world. It exemplifies what’s best in sustainable development, bringing significant investment and new jobs to the Deeside area – as well as significantly increasing recycling capacity for this part of the UK.”
Shotton Mill general manager Dan Johnson said: “Arup’s support of the design and implementation in the UK and Turkey was a key factor in choosing them as our partner. This is a very exciting time in the mill and we look forward to working with Arup to deliver a world-class manufacturing facility in North Wales.”
Arup and AHR have previously worked together on: Airbus’ Wing Integration Centre in Bristol; The Spine in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool; and Siemen’s new train manufacturing facility in Goole.
Got a story? Email [email protected]