{"version":"1","article":{"id":"mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity","slug":"mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity","language":"en","url":"https://haberpaper.com/en/news/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity?lang=en","title":"MEPCO installs PM5 sole plates at Jeddah paper-machine project","summary":"MEPCO marked installation of the PM5 paper machine’s sole plates on October 22. The project is designed for 450,000 tonnes of annual lightweight fluting and liner capacity, with production now targeted for Q1 2028.","category":"business","region":"world","topics":["commodities"],"published_at":"2026-10-25T15:16:56+03:00","modified_at":"2026-10-25T15:16:56+03:00","publication_basis":"publication-record","event_period":"2026-10-22","event_period_basis":"event-or-reference-period","sources":[{"name":"Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO), PM5 project update","url":"https://www.mep.co/Website/En/mepco-marks-a-key-pm5-milestone-with-sole-plate-installation-ceremony/","publishedAt":"2026-10-22","checkedAt":"2026-10-25"},{"name":"Saudi Exchange, MEPCO PM5 project schedule and cost disclosure","url":"https://www.saudiexchange.sa/wps/portal/saudiexchange/newsandreports/issuer-news/issuer-announcements/issuer-announcements-details/?anCat=1&anId=98332&cs=1202&locale=en","publishedAt":"2026-09-30","checkedAt":"2026-10-25"}],"translations":[{"language":"tr","url":"https://haberpaper.com/tr/news/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity?lang=tr"},{"language":"en","url":"https://haberpaper.com/en/news/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity","api_url":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity?lang=en"}],"data_types":["metrics"],"data":{"version":1,"blocks":[{"id":"mepco-pm5-planned-paper-capacity","type":"metrics","title":{"en":"PM5 planned annual paper capacity","tr":"PM5 planlanan yıllık kâğıt kapasitesi"},"description":{"en":"MEPCO says PM5 is designed for 450,000 tonnes per year of lightweight fluting and liner grades.","tr":"MEPCO, PM5’in hafif fluting ve liner sınıflarında yılda 450.000 ton kapasite için tasarlandığını belirtiyor."},"methodology":{"en":"Company-stated design capacity, not actual output. Project update on 22 October 2026; the separate 30 September filing said trial and commercial production were expected to begin in Q1 2028.","tr":"Şirketin bildirdiği tasarım kapasitesidir, fiilî üretim değildir. Proje güncellemesi 22 Ekim 2026 tarihli; ayrı 30 Eylül dosyalamasında deneme ve ticari üretimin 2028’in ilk çeyreğinde başlamasının beklendiği belirtilmişti."},"sourceUrls":["https://www.mep.co/Website/En/mepco-marks-a-key-pm5-milestone-with-sole-plate-installation-ceremony/","https://www.saudiexchange.sa/wps/portal/saudiexchange/newsandreports/issuer-news/issuer-announcements/issuer-announcements-details/?anCat=1&anId=98332&cs=1202&locale=en"],"updatedAt":"2026-10-25T14:36:32+03:00","items":[{"label":{"en":"Planned annual design capacity","tr":"Planlanan yıllık tasarım kapasitesi"},"value":450000,"unit":"tonnes per year","period":"2026-10-22","basis":"target"}]}]},"data_compilations":[{"id":"mepco-pm5-planned-paper-capacity","creator":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://haberpaper.com/#organization","name":"Haber Paper","url":"https://haberpaper.com/"},"license":{"@type":"CreativeWork","@id":"https://haberpaper.com/en/data-terms/v1#license","name":"Haber Paper Original Data Compilation License 1.0","url":"https://haberpaper.com/en/data-terms/v1"},"rights_scope":"Haber Paper original data arrangement, labels and methodology notes only; underlying source rights and permissions remain separate.","source_license_url":null}],"data_downloads":[{"id":"mepco-pm5-planned-paper-capacity","formats":{"json":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity/data/mepco-pm5-planned-paper-capacity?lang=en&format=json","csv":"https://haberpaper.com/api/v1/articles/mepco-pm5-sole-plate-installation-450000-tonnes-capacity/data/mepco-pm5-planned-paper-capacity?lang=en&format=csv"}}],"content":{"paragraphs":["Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) announced a ceremony on October 22 to mark installation of the sole plates for its fifth paper machine, PM5, at Jeddah’s Third Industrial City. The plates form the machine’s foundation and support the positioning, alignment and stability of its components. MEPCO described the installation as an engineering milestone in the project’s progress, but did not report a completion percentage or any production starting at the site.","MEPCO says PM5 is designed to add 450,000 tonnes a year of lightweight fluting and liner grades used in packaging paper. Fluting is the corrugated inner layer of cardboard, while liner forms its flat outer surfaces. The company said the machine will use Voith technology, run at a design speed of 1,600 metres per minute and produce paper with basis weights between 70 and 140 grams per square metre. These are design specifications, not actual operating speed, product quality, sales or annual output.","The project’s schedule and cost had been updated in a MEPCO disclosure to the Saudi Exchange on September 30. The company moved its expected start of trial and commercial production from the fourth quarter of 2027 to the first quarter of 2028. Its estimated project cost rose 5.7%, from about SAR 1.78 billion to SAR 1.881 billion. MEPCO attributed the delay to supply-chain disruption associated with regional geopolitical conditions. It said the cost increase reflected higher civil construction costs, an enhanced steam and power solution, and higher global freight and logistics costs.","In the September filing, MEPCO put the project’s estimated internal rate of return at 12%. It said the additional production is expected to contribute to EBITDA only after production begins, so that financial impact has not yet been realised. The October 22 sole-plate ceremony records progress at the project site; it does not revise the previously disclosed 2028 production target or cost estimate.","MEPCO presents PM5 as part of a plan to expand domestic paper manufacturing and strengthen local supply chains, including by creating more value from recycled materials. The October announcement did not provide measured figures for recycled-fibre sourcing, energy use, waste reduction or customers for the planned capacity. The project should therefore be understood as a pre-commissioning investment and planned capacity addition, rather than completed output growth or a confirmed export outcome."],"key_points":[],"sections":[]},"text":"MEPCO marked installation of the PM5 paper machine’s sole plates on October 22. The project is designed for 450,000 tonnes of annual lightweight fluting and liner capacity, with production now targeted for Q1 2028.\n\nSaudi Arabia’s Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) announced a ceremony on October 22 to mark installation of the sole plates for its fifth paper machine, PM5, at Jeddah’s Third Industrial City. The plates form the machine’s foundation and support the positioning, alignment and stability of its components. MEPCO described the installation as an engineering milestone in the project’s progress, but did not report a completion percentage or any production starting at the site.\n\nMEPCO says PM5 is designed to add 450,000 tonnes a year of lightweight fluting and liner grades used in packaging paper. Fluting is the corrugated inner layer of cardboard, while liner forms its flat outer surfaces. The company said the machine will use Voith technology, run at a design speed of 1,600 metres per minute and produce paper with basis weights between 70 and 140 grams per square metre. These are design specifications, not actual operating speed, product quality, sales or annual output.\n\nThe project’s schedule and cost had been updated in a MEPCO disclosure to the Saudi Exchange on September 30. The company moved its expected start of trial and commercial production from the fourth quarter of 2027 to the first quarter of 2028. Its estimated project cost rose 5.7%, from about SAR 1.78 billion to SAR 1.881 billion. MEPCO attributed the delay to supply-chain disruption associated with regional geopolitical conditions. It said the cost increase reflected higher civil construction costs, an enhanced steam and power solution, and higher global freight and logistics costs.\n\nIn the September filing, MEPCO put the project’s estimated internal rate of return at 12%. It said the additional production is expected to contribute to EBITDA only after production begins, so that financial impact has not yet been realised. The October 22 sole-plate ceremony records progress at the project site; it does not revise the previously disclosed 2028 production target or cost estimate.\n\nMEPCO presents PM5 as part of a plan to expand domestic paper manufacturing and strengthen local supply chains, including by creating more value from recycled materials. The October announcement did not provide measured figures for recycled-fibre sourcing, energy use, waste reduction or customers for the planned capacity. The project should therefore be understood as a pre-commissioning investment and planned capacity addition, rather than completed output growth or a confirmed export outcome.","corrections":[],"editorial_illustration":{"kind":"symbolic-editorial-illustration","documentary":false,"scope":"section","asset_id":"business","url":"https://haberpaper.com/assets/illustrations/business-1536.webp","width":1536,"height":1024,"alt":"Symbolic industrial workshop with machinery, a warehouse and a crane.","language":"en"},"section_illustration":{"kind":"symbolic-editorial-illustration","documentary":false,"scope":"section","asset_id":"business","url":"https://haberpaper.com/assets/illustrations/business-1536.webp","width":1536,"height":1024,"alt":"Symbolic industrial workshop with machinery, a warehouse and a crane.","language":"en"}}}