Emami Paper Mills Limited was incorporated on September 26, 1981 with the name Gulmohar Construction Industries Limited. The factory in Kolkata was originally promoted by Wimco in the year 1964. In 1989, it was taken over by the Company. In March 27, 1990, the Company changed their name from Gulmohar Construction Industries Limited to Gulmohar Paper Limited.
The unit became sick in 1990. In 1990-91, Emami joined as a strategic partner. In 2000, Emami Paper Mills Ltd, with a factory at Balasore, Orissa was merged with Gulmohar Paper Limited and the name of the Company was changed from Gulmohar Paper Limited to Emami Paper Mills Limited with effect from December 29, 2000.
The Company is the largest newsprint manufacturer in India. The company is a paper mill based on recycled - fiber located in Balasore (Orissa) and Kolkata (West Bengal). It is a constituent of the Emami Group, which possesses diverse business interests comprising FMCG, edible oil, writing instruments, healthcare, retail departmental stores and real estate. It also supplies newsprint to some of the largest dailies like The Times of India, Anandabazar Patrika, The Telegraph, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Prabhat Khabar, Samaj, Bartaman, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagaran, Malayam Manorama and Deccan Herald. Their Writing & Printing papers are distributed through dealers and also directly supplied to Govt Printing Presses/ Text Book Presses.
In the year 2004, the company commissioned the brick plant. Also, they won an award for environment, safety and green belt development. In the year 2005, the capacity of the Machine I at Balasore was enhanced to 50 TPD while the capacity of the second machine at Balasore was increased to 85 TPD. They bagged the achievement Award as best medium - Scale Unit.
In the year 2006, the company received the Excellence Award for Industrial environment management. Also, they received the TPM excellence award - 1st Category. In the year 2008, the company installed Paper Machine 3 (250 TPD), a de-inking plant (300 TPD) and 15 - MW Power Plant at the Balasore Unit. The company was accredited for ISO 14001: 2004 and OHSAS 18001: 2007 by Det Norske Veritas, AS Netherlands.
In September 2007, the company completed the expansion project of increase in the production capacity from 60000 TPA to 145000 TPA at Balasore and commenced commercial production from March 2008. The Expansion Plan also includes a new De-inking plant from VOITH, Germany and a 15 MW Power Generation Unit - II.
During the year 2008-09, the company signed an MoU with the Government of West Bengal for setting up a wood based integrated pulp and paper mill with a production capacity of 600 TPD (200000 TPA) along with necessary infrastructural facilities and ancillaries.
The company's equity shares were listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd (BSE) with effect from June 15, 2010.
In line with the planned expansion projects, the company firmed up plans for installing Printing & Writing Paper Machine of 175,000 tpa and Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) Bamboo/Wood Pulp Mill of 150,000 tpa, Captive Power Plant of 32 MW along with required Water Intake and Treatment facilities at a project cost of Rs 1,225 crore in the first Phase.
In March 2016, the Company newly commissioned and installed Multi-Layer Coated Board Plant of 1,32,000 TPA and 10.5 MW Captive Power Plant at Balasore, Odisha. In 2017, the Packaging Board Plant capacity was increased from 1,32,000 TPA to 180,000 TPA, PM-II Newsprint machine was modified to make it multi-functional and produce newsprint and writing & printing grade. The 15MW power plant was upgraded to 18MW.
In 2019-20, the Board Plant capacity increased to 2,00,000 TPA. PM#1, PM II and PM III ere modified to make it multi-functional to produce newsprint, writing & printing, and kraft grade with a combined capacity of 1,40,000 TPA. Total capacity increase to 3,40,000 MT
In 2022-23, Size Press retrofitted in the largest newsprint machine of the Company making it suitable for producing other grades of papers. For the first time in the Indian Paper Industry, such a project in a running mill was commissioned. With the commissioning of Size Press, the Company was able to cater to the increasing market demand in the writing and printing paper segment apart from Newsprint.