Stora Enso to invest €80m at Imatra Mills

Stora Enso is investing €80 million in its Imatra Mills in southern Finland, which produce packaging boards for food and beverage products.

The investment – which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022 – aims to modernise the wood handling process in Imatra and centralise it in one of the existing wood yards.

The project includes the installation of a third, more efficient debarking line – which Stora Enso says will reduce the environmental impact of the process – as well as improvements to chip handling systems, and modifications to the existing wood yard infrastructure.

Following the investment, the centralised and modernised wood handling capacity is expected to boost efficiency at the site.

Consisting of two production units – Kaukopää and Tainionkoski – the Imatra Mills produce consumer packaging boards for food, drink and luxury packaging, with an annual production capacity of 1,195,000 tonnes.

“Stora Enso’s packaging materials offering relies on the competitiveness of large and strong integrated mills such as at Imatra,” said Hannu Kasurinen, executive vice president, packaging materials division at Stora Enso.

“Imatra is one of the world’s largest producers of liquid packaging board serving customers globally. From a long-term perspective, efficient and stable wood handling capacity is fundamental to both pulp and board production.”

Earlier this year, Stora Enso introduced new barrier boards for paper cups and food packaging, as it continues to remove plastic in packaging.