Metsä Group will not invest in planned biodiesel plant in Ajos in Kemi, Finland

Metsä Group Press Release 25 June 2012


Metsä Group and Vapo Group have conducted a feasibility study on the construction of a biodiesel plant in Finland or its neighbouring regions since spring 2009. Originally, the study covered four locations, two of them in Finland. The final stage of the study reviewed the opportunity of establishing a plant in Ajos, Kemi, which would use wood as its raw material. Based on the feasibility study, Metsä Group finds that there are insufficient profitability prerequisites for executing the project and the review process has been ended on Metsä Group’s behalf.

"As a whole, and particularly in regard to the scale of the investment, the project profitability doesn’t reach a level where investing to this plan would be financially justified for Metsä Group. There was no single reason for our decision. Instead, this is expressly an overall review. Metsä Group will focus on further developing the Kemi mill integrate in Northern Finland and will, among other actions, review the opportunity to increase bioenergy production at the integrate. A possible investment will be allocated to replacing fossil fuels in particular," says Hannu Anttila, Executive Vice President, Strategy.


METSÄ GROUP
Group Communications

For more information, please contact:
Hannu Anttila, Executive Vice President, Strategy, Metsä Group, tel. +358 10 465 5111


www.metsagroup.com 

Metsä Group is a responsible forest industry group whose products are part of people’s everyday life and promote sustainable well-being. Metsä Group produces high-quality products mainly from renewable Nordic wood. The Group’s business areas are tissue and cooking papers, board and paper, pulp, wood products as well as wood supply. Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 5.3 billion in 2011, and it employs approximately 12,500 people. The Group is present in some 30 countries.