Fresh fiber paperboards manufacturer Metsä Board has commenced construction of a new sheeting line at its board mill in Äänekoski, Finland.
Image: Metsä Board has commenced construction of new sheeting line at its Äänekoski mill. Photo: courtesy of Metsä Board.
The company is investing €11m at the new sheeting line, which will help the company to increase the annual capacity of Äänekosk plant by 35,000 tons to a total of 120,000 tons.
The new sheeting line will also allow Metsä Board to meet the growing demand from the customers in the region.
Metsä Board will also use the investment to provide additional automation to the existing sheet cutter and equipment for cutter reel handling and storage, in addition to the new sheet cutter.
Expected to begin operations in September 2019, the new sheeting line will be situated in the existing sheeting plant.
Separately, Metsä Board is also investing €6m to build a second baling line at its Kaskinen mill in Finland.
The investment will enable the company to increase the mill’s bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP) capacity, as well as improve the product consistency and production reliability.
The new installation will allow increasing the annual capacity by a further 30,000 tons to 370,000 tons, and the BCTMP produced in Kaskinen is used both for the firm’s folding boxboard production and market pulp.
In January this year, Metsä Board introduced a new eco-barrier paperboard for food service applications.
MetsäBoard Pro FSB EB1 is a bio-based, recyclable and biodegradable paperboard developed for use with foods that need grease resistance up to KIT level 5.
The barrier properties of the paperboard can be enhanced by adding varnishing layers at the converter.
Metsä Board is engaged in the manufacturing of premium fresh fiber paperboards paperboards such as folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners.
The company produces lightweight paperboards to offer safer and sustainable solutions for consumer goods, and retail-ready and food service applications.
With global sales network, Metsä Board supplies its products to brand owners, retailers, converters and merchants across the world.
The company, which has around 2,350 employees, reported sales of about €1.8bn in 2017.