”The majority of the board has concluded that no justifiable alternative to a closure exists,” said Eivind Reiten, Chairman of Norske Skog.”This is regrettable towards the employees at Follum. We have been negotiating with Viken Skog regarding a potential sale. It has, however, not been possible to reach an agreement, which is viable both in a market and an economic sense,” Eivind Reiten explained. Norske Skog Follum is located in the town of Hønefoss, Norway, and has 356 employees. The mill produces improved newsprint, magazine paper and book paper. The annual production capacity is 290,000 tons. /AA