The Paper Mill

In 2006 Granite City Brass were faced with a major problem, with the impending redevelopment of the Fugro office's, which would mean we would be unable to continue to use the space as our rehearsal facility, we were on the verge of being homeless.  It was with great delight however that we secured our future by turning one eye to the past.  For many decades the band had used the facility at the Stoneywood Paper Mill as our base, indeed if you read the history section of our site you will see that our very creation all those years ago owes a great deal to the Mill.

Alistair Garioch, one of our trombone players is employed at the Mill and he made enquiries as to whether we could use one of the buildings within the complex as our home and with great delight we were soon returning to the Paper Mill in Stoneywood.  This has provided the band with an ideal rehearsal facility and storage area which should provide us with a perfect platform to secure our aims to provide a first class brass band for the local community and the opportunity for all to learn a brass instrument. 

The members of Granite City Brass would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at the Mill for their support and invaluable contribution to our future.

The following article published online (www.themanufacturer.com) in June 2005 gives an outline of both the history and modern working environment of the Paper Mill in Stoneywood.

ArjoWiggins is a global manufacturer of creative and technical papers. With operations in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia, the group encompasses a broad range of products and brands, including printing and writing papers, art and bookbinding papers, coated papers, fine papers, home furnishing and décor papers, and papers for technology and security.

Its Stoneywood paper mill in Aberdeen, which has operated on the same 50-acre site close to the River Don since 1770, produces the fine papers that have established ArjoWiggins as a leader in its field. Here a 490-strong workforce produces some 60,000 tonnes of paper annually. The Aberdeen mill is the largest UK mill in the group's fine papers division, which in turn is part of ArjoWiggins' art and creativity branch.

If you've ever worked in an office, the chances are high that you will have used Conqueror business stationery. This is one of ArjoWiggins' most famous brands, and constitutes around 50 per cent of the Aberdeen mill's output, explained general manager John Gaunt. "We also produce ranges of coloured papers and boards, including metallic-coated and embossed papers. These products come under our 'Curious Collection', and are printing and writing papers targeted at designers. We constantly introduce new colours within our branded paper ranges to capture fashion trends."

One of ArjoWiggins' key objectives is to measure the environmental impact of its activities and make decisions to reduce its impact to the lowest reasonably achievable level. To maintain the quality of both air and water and to preserve natural resources, the group has set itself a target of continuous improvement, as in all of its industrial processes, in its efforts to recycle and reuse waste.

The Stoneywood mill's newest product is an FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) accredited range of papers for Conqueror, for which it was subjected to a rigorous accreditation process. "There are not many accredited paper products," said Gaunt. "The process is similar to an ISO process, but is product-specific and establishes that we have a 'chain of custody'. This new paper is made from some recycled fibre, and the rest comes from materials which meets the FSC standards based on sustainability, economic viability, environmental appropriateness and social benefits."

The paper-making process requires a lot of heat and power, and the Aberdeen mill generates its own, state-of-the-art best environmental practice. "At Stoneywood we need steam to dry the paper flat and electricity to drive the machines, so the most practical and least wasteful way of doing this is to have a combined heat and power plant. An industrial gas turbine turns a 10-megawatt generator, and the exhaust goes through a waste heat boiler to raise steam. When we built our generator some 15 years ago we were in the vanguard, and other paper mills have now followed us."

The mill is committed to continuous improvement. It has an ongoing environmental action plan, and has been compliant with ISO 14001 (environmental management systems standard) since 1996. Each year it also has a different specific target in relation to the environment, with its own detailed action plan. "This year the key target is to reduce our losses to drain," said Gaunt. "Some of our waste products go out in waste water and are, arguably, pollutants. At the moment we're working hard to reduce waste during grade change on our paper machines. When we go from, for example, black to blue paper, there are losses in the system. We change colours on the run, and a lot of paper is wasted as a result - about 10 per cent of productive time. Waste also costs a lot of money, so good environmental practice is also good business practice. The process is always the same: we measure, we target, and we act."

The mill has its own advanced effluent treatment plant, which has been improved and extended since it was built in the late 1980s. All the water used during the production process comes from, and goes back into, the River Don - an important salmon river. And I have a vested interest in the health of the river, because I fish there as do many of our mill employees and customers."

ArjoWiggins is one of the founder members of the AERES (association for the reduction of the greenhouse effect) and is committed to a significant reduction in the production of CO2 in order to meet European targets. "We have to have plans to improve our CO2 emissions profile based on a more efficient use of heating and of paper machines, so that we use less energy per tonne on what we produce," Gaunt explained. "The fact that we have a CHP (combined heat and power plant) and use natural gas helps, and also means we are exempt from the UK climate change levy.

Trading conditions aren't easy at present for the paper industry and although ArjoWiggins has not escaped this entirely it continues to work to differentiate itself and maintain its leading position. So what sets ArjoWiggins apart from its competitors? Gaunt has no hesitation in replying. "The fact that we have such a broad range of papers and such strong brands, together with good distribution and a robust supply chain. Together these allow us to give excellent service to our customers."

Company History

For more information about the Paper Mill in Stoneywood please click here