The paper mill restart follows several talks and collaboration with institutions and entities involved, which have always been held since the company was regretfully forced to put the mill on shutdown. The cooperation with the institutions, first and foremost the Lazio Region, has led to a key clarification regarding the most recent regional resolutions; as a result, today the Group accepted the solicitation by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, the Region’s Department of Productive Activities, unions and all other institutions present at today’s meeting at the Ministry in order to stop and close the business shutdown procedure, as well as that concerning the collective redundancy of its 163 employees, which started on January 11th, 2024.
Ahead of the renewal of the Integrated Environmental Authorisation (IEA), a number of matters are still to be agreed on with regard to the categorization of some materials and the handling of some flows. In this regard, the Company and the institutions have already mapped out a path to provide more information. Indeed, the Group’s goal is for the practices already implemented in all paper mills recycling wastepaper, both in Italy and in Europe, to be used at Villa Santa Lucia mill as well.
“Today, we are very pleased to announce the forthcoming reopening of the Villa Santa Lucia paper mill, which is a strategic plant for the Group’s operations,” Michele Bianchi, CEO of the RDM Group, pointed out. “During all these months, we have been engaged in a continuous dialogue with all the institutions involved in order to provide a definite future for the plant, being well aware of its potential. The major investments that the Group has been making, even when the plant was not running, are a prove of our engagement. We will make sure that the established practices that have been implemented at all paper mills recycling wastepaper will be used at Villa Santa Lucia mill as well. We will do so because of the collaborative approach between institutions, citizens, and the company, which will allow us to achieve the ambitious goal of making sustainable business over time”.