History
Norske Skog started up in 1962 with the construction of a paper mill at Skogn in Norway, with the plant opening in 1966 and a second paper machine in 1967. Half the capital for the project was issued by the Norwegian Forest Owners Association. In 1972 Norske Skog started a cooperation with Follum Fabrikker in Hønefoss. By 1989 Norske Skog had acquired Follum Fabrikker and Union in Skien as well as Saugbrugsforeningen in Halden. With this Norske Skog controlled all the pulp and paper mills in Norway.
The first international acquisition came in 1992 when Papeteries de Golbey in Lorraine, France. Norske Skog later bought the entire plant in 1995. Norske Skog expanded with purchases in Austria in 1996 and the Czech Republic in 1997. In 1998 Norske skog purchased mills in Thailand and the Republic of Korea.
In 2000 Norske Skog bought the British Columbia based Fletcher Challenge Canada with nine mills and Pacifica Papers (formerly MacMillan Bloedel) and created NorskeCanada. By 2006 Norske Skog had sold its shares in NorskeCanada and the company has changed its name to Catalyst Paper.
In September 2005 it acquired the Asian company PanAsia Paper, in turn making Norske Skog Asia's largest producer of newsprint and magazine paper.
The company has suffered from an oversupply in the paper industry and mounting debt. A number of factories have been closed or downsized. The closure of the Union paper mill in Skien in 2005 caused a massive outcry, including protests from a number of politicians. Further closures include the closure of a factory in Steti in the Czech Republic, the indefinite closure of a factory in South Korea, and the closure of one of the three paper machines at Follum. From March 2007 to March 2008, the value of the Norske Skog stock plummeted from over 100 kr to below 18 kr An editorial in Finansavisen could not rule out the possibility of bankruptcy. In September 2008, Norske Skog Korea was bought by both Morgan Stanley Private Equity of Asia and Shinhan Private Equity.
Sven Ombudstvedt will become CEO of Norske Skog in January 2010. Ombudstvedt was previously chief financial officer and a management board member of Yara International and strategy director of Norsk Hydro. Ombudstvedt will succeed Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, who will leave the company to become CEO of Statkraft.
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