Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, has made the investment decision to build a new bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland. The value of the investment is EUR 1.6 billion and it is the largest investment ever made by the Finnish forest industry in Finland. The construction phase will take approximately two and a half years, and the mill will be completed during the third quarter of 2023.
In addition to the Kemi bioproduct mill, Metsä Group is currently building the world’s most modern sawmill in Rauma, Finland. With these investments, Metsä Group meets the needs of forest owners and its customers even better than before across the entire forest industry value chain and will play a significant role in combating climate change.
“The role of Finnish forests from an ecological, economic and social point of view is important in our development work. We are constantly improving methods of managing commercial forests to safeguard biodiversity and increase the positive climate impact of forests. Vibrant forestry brings prosperity to the whole country. We make products for people’s everyday lives from Finnish wood. Metsä Group’s strategic goals include increasing the value of Finnish forests, profitable growth together with customers, increasing the production of wood products which store carbon for a long time, replacing products made of fossil-based raw materials with wood-based products, discontinuing the use of fossil fuels and increasing the production of renewable energy. Rauma sawmill and Kemi bioproduct mill contribute to all these goals,” says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.
Kemi bioproduct mill will increase the annual value of Finland’s exports by approximately EUR 0.5 billion, and the positive annual income effect in Finland from wood sales and domestic purchases will also be approximately EUR 0.5 billion. The new bioproduct mill will secure the 250 jobs in the existing pulp mill in Kemi for decades to come. All in all, around 500 persons work in the Metsä Group’s Kemi mill site.
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