Press ReleasesNippon Paper Industries to Resume Operation of Paper Machine 8 at Ishinomaki MillProducing printing paper for the first time in six months after being hit by the tsunami

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (President: Yoshio Haga) has moved forward with reconstruction efforts at Ishinomaki Mill (Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture), which sustained damage as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake, with paper machine 8 being brought back into service on September 16. This is the first paper machine at the mill to resume operation as a result of reconstruction efforts during the six months since operations came to a complete halt after the mill was hit directly by the tsunami.

While Ishinomaki Mill suffered severe inundation damage from the tsunami, the main body of the paper machines was largely undamaged, and from late March work began to remove the dirt and rubble that was deposited on the mill grounds with a view to resuming operations. Heavy equipment and personnel from the whole company were brought in to push forward with the restoration, setting up a temporary office in May, and restoring the mill's power source by bringing the in-house generator back into operation in August. Work toward resuming operation of the paper machines continued, with the full-scale operation of paper machine 8, which produces printing paper, commencing on September 16. Currently, production is progressing smoothly.

It is planned to steadily resume operation of paper machines by continuing with the restoration work based on the Plan for Paper Business Revitalization announced on August 3.