P3 - NEWS

(23.09.2022 / sbr)

Metsä Board starts pre-engineering for new folding boxboard mill in Kaskinen, Finland

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, announced on 15 September 2022 that it starts pre-engineering for a new folding boxboard mill in Kaskinen, Finland. Metsä Board announced in May 2022 that it explores possibilities to increase folding boxboard capacity in Finland or Sweden in order to support its customers’ growth and to strengthen its service capability. As result of the study, the company starts pre-engineering for a new folding boxboard mill with an annual capacity of approximately 800,000 tonnes at the Kaskinen mill site in Finland.

The pre-engineering phase will include technical design, design of infrastructure and logistics solutions and tendering for the main equipment. As part of the pre-engineering, an environmental impact assessment and an environmental permit process will be launched. The company estimates that the possible investment decision could be made in 2024 at the earliest.

The pre-engineering for the new folding boxboard mill is based on fossil-free production and world-class resource and production efficiency. Thanks to the best available technology, the consumption of raw materials, energy and water per tonne of folding boxboard produced would be significantly lower when compared with the existing mills. The product concept would benefit from Metsä Board's long-term development work in the production of premium lightweight paperboards.

"This possible investment is in line with Metsä Board’s strategy to grow in fibre-based materials and renew our industrial operations. Our ambition is to have the world's most resource-efficient mill, cutting-edge competitiveness and a product concept that enables carbon footprint reduction. Demand for packaging made from renewable raw materials and replacing plastic will continue to grow. We want to meet this demand with more sustainable packaging solutions that promote the circular economy," says Metsä Board's CEO Mika Joukio.