Even paper machines under 20 years old have been shut down in Europe. UPM shut down a machine in Platting that was started up in 2008 a few years ago. That was likely UPM’s newest paper machine in Europe, at 15 years old when it was closed. But when there is way too much capacity and demand is falling at an annual rate of 5-10%, even technically perfectly good mills are shut down and the machines are scrapped.
It’s the same thing with the Joutseno pulp mill. There’s probably nothing technically wrong with it either, but the unit is simply not profitable in the current situation, so it is idle and the subject of closure rumors.