The investment is intended to strengthen the focus on expanding consumer demand for non-bleached renewable packaging materials and hygiene products respectively
The investments will bolster Stora Enso’s focus on specialised pulp grades. (Credit: Stora Enso Oyj)
Stora Enso has announced an investment of €38m in unbleached kraft pulp (UKP) production at its Enocell site in Finland and €42m to improve fluff pulp production at its Skutskär facility in Sweden.
The Finnish paper and packaging firm said the investments will bolster its focus on specialised pulp grades.
According to the company, the investment will support the expanding consumer demand for non-bleached renewable packaging materials and hygiene products respectively.
The investment, which is expected to complete during the last quarter of 2024, will allow the Enocell plant to flexibly produce UKP and Nordic Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp on demand.
Stora Enso claimed that the carbon footprint per tonne of produced UKP will be 20% lower than the equal amount of bleached pulp produced at the Enocell plant due to the decreased use of bleaching chemicals.
The improvement in fluff pulp production at the Skutskär location will strengthen Stora Enso’s position as the fluff pulp producer in Europe. The site will be upgraded to meet the demand for specific roll sizes, improve work safety and increase its fluff pulp production.
It is anticipated that the investment will be finished in the second quarter of 2024, the Finnish company said.
Stora Enso Biomaterials division EVP Johanna Hagelberg said: “Through optimising our pulp portfolio, we advance the more specialised pulp offering, while also improving production and sustainability performance.
“This will allow us to meet the rapidly growing demand for using unbleached and less bleached pulp in packaging and hygiene applications.”
The Enocell site’s annual capacity is 630,000 tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp and employs around 280 people. The Skutskär site’s annual capacity is 545,000 tonnes of fluff, softwood and hardwood pulps and employs around 420 people.
Last month, the packaging firm invested in the Swedish sustainable packaging technology company PulPac. PulPac is working on dry moulded fibre technology to support sustainable packaging.