Norske Skog's board decided in December 1990 to close the sulfite pulp mill and build a new magazine paper machine, PM6. The decision to terminate cellulose production was both caused by the environmental impact as well as by a steady diminishing demand for chemical pulp. The recession following the dissolution of the Soviet Union meant that exports to Eastern Europe were decimated. Meanwhile, new production technologies for paper had less demand for cellulose. The closing resulted in a loss of 210 jobs, of which 25 were transferred to PM6 and 50 were retired early. Construction of the new mill took place at Skakkestad, to the northeast of the main facility. Originally PM6 was proposed to produce light weight coated paper, but after Stora bought the technological partner Feldmühle, PM6 had to revert to supercalender.