Alier adds capacity.

Alier, Barcelona, Spain, has acquired Ondulesa, a Spanish manufacturer of corrugated board and boxboard containers. Alier acquired 40% of the shares of Ondulesa in 2002 and the remaining 60% in March 2003. Alier operates a mill in Lleida, Spain, that produces 150,000 metric tons per year of recycled paper for different applications. The location employs 190 people. Ondulesa is also in Lleida. It produces 18 million square meters of corrugated board annually with 43 employees.

In other news: Alier has added size press treatments on two paper machines at its Lleida mill. The size press treatment was added to PM2 in February to improve the quality of paper produced for the corrugated board market The company says the papers are stronger, smoother, and easier to convert. In March, Alier added the same size press treatment to its PM3 that produces papers for other markets.

Alier's Lleida mill also received certification under the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard in March. The company has already received certification under the Blue Angel and Ecolabel environmental certification programs.