Mill running tests on #6 machine

After being idled back on March 1 due to poor market conditions, the #6 paper machine at the AbitibiBowater mill here was re-started this week to run tests to see if it could be used to produce different types of paper and thus make its operation more viable down the road.
“We’re conducting a few trials at #6 this week just to prove out machine capabilities beyond what we’ve been producing on the machine in the past, which is SCA or glossy paper,” mill manager John Harrison noted yesterday.

“So, we’re just doing some trials on the machine to prove out how heavy we can make the sheet, how bulky we can make the sheet,” he explained.
Harrison said the trials started Tuesday and are expected to run through tomorrow.
But after the trials this week, the #6 machine will be shut down again due to the continuing market conditions, Harrison noted.