Stora Enso leases part of the Veitsiluoto site to Infinited Fiber Company
STORA ENSO OYJ PRESS RELEASE 20 June 2022 at 9:30 EEST
Stora Enso is leasing the former paper machinery hall at its Veitsiluoto site in Finland to the textile technology company Infinited Fiber Company, which plans to build a commercial-scale factory to produce regenerated textile fiber from textile waste. Earlier this month Stora Enso sold its district heating business at Veitsiluoto to utility infrastructure company Nevel, a provider of advanced industrial and municipal infrastructure solutions.
“We always want to find sustainable and financially robust long-term solutions to ensure a viable future for our former sites. I am pleased with our rapid progress in signing a lease with companies that can take advantage of the Veitsiluoto infrastructure and bring new business to the area. Our work at Veitsiluoto continues in order to bring more activity and jobs to the site," says Seppo Parvi, Stora Enso's CFO and Country Manager for Finland.
According to Infinited Fiber Company, their factory will create an estimated 270 new jobs at Veitsiluoto site. Infinited Fiber Company's technology enables cotton-rich textile waste to be transformed into a high-quality Infinna™ textile fiber that is biodegradable and contains no microplastics. Textiles made from it can be recycled together with cotton-containing textile waste in the same process.
“We are planning to invest around 400 million euros to build a factory in Veitsiluoto. Our customers are global leaders in the fashion and apparel industry, and we expect to export nearly all the future Infinna™ fiber output of the planned factory. The Veitsiluoto area has many strengths that will support future business, in particular its location by the sea, existing infrastructure and availability of skilled workforce. It is a privilege to be able to create new business in this environment,” says Petri Alava, CEO and co-founder of Infinited Fiber Company.
Stora Enso has been mapping the future business opportunities in the Veitsiluoto area since summer 2021. The evaluation criteria have been the economic viability of the operator, the financing of the project and the employment impact of the business. Work to find additional activity to the site continues.
Stora Enso ceased pulp and paper production at Veitsiluoto in September 2021. Stora Enso’s sawmill continues to operate on the site and is celebrating its centenary this year. The company still employs around 100 people at the sawmill, in human resources and at the service centre in Veitsiluoto.
About Infinited Fiber Company Infinited Fiber Company is a fashion and textile technology group on a mission to bring joy and hope back to closets by making circularity an everyday reality. Our breakthrough innovation turns cellulose-rich materials – like worn-out clothes – into Infinna™, a premium textile fiber that looks and feels soft and natural like cotton. Infinna™ is biodegradable and contains no microplastics, and textiles made with it can be recycled in the same process. We are headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Learn more at https://infinitedfiber.com/.
For further information, please contact:
Carl Norell
Press Officer, Stora Enso
Tel. +46 72 241 0349
Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction and paper, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. We believe that everything that is made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has approximately 22,000 employees and our sales in 2021 were EUR 10.2 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm AB (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY). storaenso.com
STORA ENSO OYJ
Carl Norell
Press Officer, Stora Enso
Tel. +46 72 241 0349
