Metsä Group discontinues the operations of the upgrading and distribution unit in Kaskinen

Metsä Group Press Release 2 October 2013


Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group, announced on 12 August 2013 that it was planning to close down the operations of the upgrading and distribution unit in Kaskinen, Finland. At the same time, the company initiated statutory labour negotiations concerning the potential closure.

The statutory labour negotiations with the personnel concerning the closure have now been concluded. During the negotiations, no commercially viable options could be found to continue the operations of the upgrading and distribution unit in Kaskinen, and as a result, the operations of the unit will be discontinued by the end of 2013. The reduction of personnel resulting from the closure is 51 persons in total. The statutory labour negotiations concerned the entire personnel of the upgrading and distribution unit in Kaskinen, the upgrading sales organisation in Finland and the related support functions, approximately 80 people in total.

The closure will have no impact on Thermowood manufacture in Kaskinen or the operations of the Kolho impregnation plant. Neither will the closure have any impact on Metsä Wood’s upgrading business in the United Kingdom and France.


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

For further information, please contact:
Esa Kaikkonen, Executive Vice President, Metsä Wood, tel. +358 10 469 4749
Olga van Iterson, Marketing and Communications Manager, Metsä Wood, tel. +358 50 325 2376


www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products’ main raw material is renewable and sustainably grown Nordic wood. Metsä Group focuses on tissue and cooking papers, consumer packaging paperboards, pulp, wood products, and wood supply and forest services. Its high-quality products combine renewable raw materials, customer-orientation, sustainable development and innovation. Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 5.0 billion in 2012, and it employs approximately 11,500 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by approximately 125,000 Finnish forest owners.

www.metsawood.com

Metsä Wood offers competitive and eco-efficient wood-based solutions for industrial construction customers, other industrial customers and the home and lifestyle sectors. We manufacture products from Nordic wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. Our sales were EUR 904 million in 2012, and we employ about 2,700 people. Metsä Wood is part of Metsä Group.