Metsä Board's Kemi mill development programme completed
Metsä Board Corporation press release 22 September 2023
The development programme for Metsä Board's white kraftliner mill in Kemi has been completed in parallel with Metsä Fibre's new bioproduct mill. Metsä Board and Metsä Fibre are part of Metsä Group. In addition to increasing the mill’s capacity by 40,000 tonnes per year, the development programme will reduce the mill's energy consumption by 5% and water consumption by around 40% per tonne produced.
The Kemi paperboard mill is the world's largest producer of coated white top kraftliner and its products are used as a surface material for corrugated packaging worldwide. The development programme will increase Kemi’s annual production capacity of white kraftliners to 465,000 tonnes, with the majority being sold in Europe and North America.
The development programme for the board mill consisted of three parts: increasing the annual production capacity of white kraftliner by 40,000 tonnes, improving energy and water efficiency and transferring the unbleached pulp production line to Metsä Board.
A new, larger-capacity disc filter has been built at the board mill, resulting in a more closed water circulation giving significant savings in water consumption. The mill's new heat recovery towers are more efficient at capturing waste heat from the process and recycling it back into the system. The supply of top layer birch pulp of the liner from the bioproduct mill as dried form will increase both the energy and production efficiency of the board machine.
To allow for the increase in production capacity, the board machine and finishing operations have been modernised and production has been streamlined. Examples of changes include the increase of the winder capacity, the automatic transfer of machine reels from the board machine to winder, fully automated reel loading and a new logistics chain between the deep-water port of Ajos in Kemi.
As part of the development programme, Metsä Fibre's unbleached pulp production line will be transferred to Metsä Board in a modernised state. The production line will have an annual capacity of 180,000 tonnes of softwood pulp, which will be used in the bottom layer of the Kemi kraftliner.
The white kraftliner produced in Kemi is recognised in the market as a leader in quality and sustainability. "Around the world, customers specify 'Kemi' when they mean high-quality coated white kraftliner. Lightweight and durable kraftliners play an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of corrugated packaging. This investment meets our customers' needs by improving the availability of packaging materials with further improved environmental performance," says Mika Joukio, CEO of Metsä Board.
For further information:
Marjo Halonen, VP Communications, Metsä Board
Mobile: +358 (0)50 598 7046
Email: marjo.halonen@metsagroup.com
Metsä Board
metsagroup.com/metsaboard
Metsä Board is a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards. We focus on lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. The pure fresh fibres we use in our products are a renewable and recyclable resource, that can be traced back to sustainably managed northern forests. We are a forerunner in sustainability, and we aim to have completely fossil free mills and raw materials by the end of 2030.
Together with our customers we develop innovative packaging solutions to create better consumer experiences with less environmental impact. In 2022 our sales totaled EUR 2.5 billion, and we have around 2,250 employees. Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
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Metsä Group
metsagroup.com
Metsä Group leads the way in the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, developing bioproducts and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, and tissue and greaseproof papers.
Metsä Group’s annual sales is approximately EUR 7 billion, and we have around 9,500 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forest: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative owned by over 90,000 forest owners.
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