Metsä Board Magazine – Winter 2024

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Investments

HUSUM BOARD AND PULP MILL

The Tako mill has a unique location in Tampere’s city centre.

TAKO FOLDING BOXBOARD MILL

The Husum mill is a large integrated mill. Located on the Swedish coast, the mill produces folding boxboard, uncoated white kraftliner and bleached chemical pulp. Significant investments have been made at the Husum board and pulp mills in recent years. In November 2023, a EUR 230 million investment project was completed to modernise Husum’s folding boxboard production line (BM1). As a result, the production line’s capacity increased from 400,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes, with the total production capacity expected to be reached by the end of 2025. Husum’s modernised folding boxboard production line is the largest and most modern of its kind in Europe. In December 2023, a group of investments were made in which the pulp mill’s recovery boiler and turbine were renewed. With a total value of EUR 380 million, the investment considerably improved the mill’s energy efficiency and production reliability. Following the equipment purchases, the Husum mill integrate is 80 per cent self-sufficient in electricity and supplies heat to the neigh- bouring municipality. A pre-feasibility study for a project related to the renewal of the pulp drying machines is cur- rently underway, and a decision is expected in the first half of 2025. Benefits for customers: The modernised paperboard production line produces a lightweight and strong folding boxboard that helps reduce the weight of consumer packaging. The capacity expan- sion will meet the growing demand for sustainable packaging in North America and Europe.

The Tako board mill has the longest history of all Metsä Board’s mills. The mill produces high-quality folding boxboards tailored for demanding packaging and printing needs. Tako’s recent investments have been related to safety and mill maintenance. In 2022, the mill received a new winder that introduced additional cutting speed capacity and improved safety. Like the Äänekoski mill, the Tako mill invested in steam and condensate systems that improved the mill’s energy efficiency. In 2024, an office renovation was carried out at the mill, involving new windows and ventilation, which was an important investment in workplace wellbeing. Benefits for customers: The investments maintain the premium product quality that customers expect from Metsä Board, and the new winder ensures good cutting results.

Grades produced at the mill: MetsäBoard Natural FBB CX MetsäBoard Pro FBB CX MetsäBoard Prime FBB CXB MetsäBoard Prime FBB CX

Personnel Capacity kt/a 195 210

Grades produced at the mill: MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright, MetsäBoard Pro FBB OBAfree, MetsäBoard Natural FBB, MetsäBoard Pro FSB Cup, MetsäBoard Natural FSB Cup, MetsäBoard Natural WKL Bright

Customers worldwide say “Kemi” when they mean high-quality coated white top kraftliner.

Personnel

FBB capacity kt/a

WKL capacity kt/a 250

700 600

KEMI WHITE KRAFTLINER MILL

The Kemi board mill is the world’s leading mill producing coated white kraftliner. It is part of the Metsä Kemi mill integrate, which also houses Metsä Fibre’s new bioproduct mill, which started up in 2023. An unbleached chemical pulp production line also operates in connection with the board mill. In September 2023, an extensive investment project of EUR 110 million was completed at Metsä Board’s Kemi board mill. The project was part of a development programme that increased production capacity for coated white kraftliner by 40,000 tonnes annually. In addition, the investments enabled a 40 per cent reduction in water consumption and a 5 per cent reduction in energy consumption. Benefits for customers: The investments and additional capacity will increase the mill’s life-cycle and support customers’ growth. Improvements to the mill’s water and energy efficiency will also support customers’ sustainability targets.

JOUTSENO BCTMP MILL

The Joutseno BCTMP mill is Metsä Board’s newest mill and produces bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP), used in the middle layer of folding boxboards. BCMTP plays an important role in making paperboards increasingly lightweight. In recent years, life-cycle investments have been carried out at the Joutseno mill to improve the mill’s availability. In 2022, the company invested in a new twin roll press, which led to considerable savings in energy consumption and reduced water consumption. Investments are currently being planned to help the mill abandon natural gas and move closer towards the company’s target of fossil free operations.

Benefits for customers: Thanks to life-cycle investments, the mill operates reliably, efficiently, and with increasingly low CO 2 emissions.

Personnel Capacity kt/a 150 465

Grades produced at the mill: MetsäBoard Classic WKL MetsäBoard Pro WKL MetsäBoard Prime WKL

Personnel Capacity kt/a 50 360

The mill is part of a mill integrate that also houses Metsä Fibre’s

pulp mill, creating valuable synergies for the company.

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