SAICA Paper welcomed Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, to its Carrington mill for a site tour and round table discussion.

The event on July 7 saw senior members of the Environment Agency join SAICA for a tour of the state-of-the-art control centre and paper mill - known as PM-11 - to see the complete paper machine and paper making process.

Following the tour of the site, Sir James then took part in a round table discussion on a number of issues, including the challenges and opportunities currently facing the industry.

Pasi Hayrynen, SAICA’s plant manager said: “We are delighted that Sir James visited PM11 and had the opportunity of seeing our facilities.

"The SAICA mill is a vibrant employment hub within Greater Manchester, and our state-of-the-art facilities continue to build on its success.

“We share common goals with the Environment Agency; to create an economic hub for skills and industry at this location while ensuring the protection of the environment.”

The company said its state-of-the-art technologies help minimise the environmental impact of producing containerboard papers and are designed to use 40 per cent less water and 50 per cent less electricity per tonne of paper than would usually be used.

The visit came two weeks after a blaze at the mill destroyed around 200 tonnes of recovered paper.