DS Smith has reached a major milestone in its “F-Line Project” at Kemsley paper mill in Kent, with the completion of the main building for a new fibre preparation plant.
The F-line will supply high-quality recycled fibre to PM3, the mill’s versatile machine producing white top testliner, paperboard liner, and other corrugated case material (CCM) grades. With the structure now in place, work will shift to installing the electrical suite that will control the fibre preparation process. This includes new process equipment, 77 km of electrical cabling, and extensive piping to integrate plant systems.
Once operational, the facility will be centrally managed from Kemsley’s NSP control room, with a dedicated operator station on-site. The project is central to DS Smith’s “Now and Next” sustainability strategy, designed to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
According to DS Smith, the F-line will deliver significant environmental benefits:
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Cutting over 6,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, contributing to a 46% reduction target in Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2030 (compared with 2019 levels).
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Reducing waste by 39,000 tonnes per year, advancing the company’s zero waste to landfill ambition.
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Lowering freshwater use by 50,000 m³ annually, the equivalent of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The investment highlights DS Smith’s continued modernization of Kemsley Mill, the UK’s largest recycled paper facility and the second largest in Europe, with an annual production capacity of around 830,000 tonnes. Since its origins in 1924, the site has remained a cornerstone of UK papermaking and continues to play a central role in supplying sustainable packaging materials across Europe.
DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable fibre-based packaging worldwide. Kemsley Mill in Kent, the largest recycled paper mill in the UK and the second largest in Europe, has an annual production capacity of around 830,000 tonnes. By investing in advanced technologies, DS Smith continues to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and produce high-quality recycled papers for packaging and other applications.
