The move supports Stora Enso's objective to focus on long-term profitable growth within sustainable packaging, building solutions, and biomaterials advance sectors
The consumer board production site in Beihai, China. (Credit: Chen Xiaozhao/STORA ENSO OYJ)
Finland-based pulp and paper firm Stora Enso has started a divestment process of its consumer board production site in Beihai, China and the Group’s forestry operations in the surrounding region.
The forestry operations supply raw materials to the Beihai site.
The move supports Stora Enso’s objective to focus on long-term profitable growth within sustainable packaging, building solutions, and biomaterials advance sectors.
According to the firm, the board mill and forestry businesses would either be sold individually or as a single transaction. The process’s end date has not been committed to by Stora Enso.
The financial performance of Stora Enso or the output at the Beihai plant is unaffected by the divestment proposal, the firm claimed.
The production facility in Beihai was started in 2016. It has a premium consumer board line and a contemporary mechanical pulp mill to serve the Chinese market.
Stora Enso said that the plant produces 250,000 tonnes of mechanical pulp and 550,000 tonnes of consumer board annually.
In addition, the paper firm manages 70,000 hectares of land in the Guangxi province for eucalyptus plantations that were started in 2003 for the supply of fibre. With the forest operations included, the total number of employees is over 1,000.
The production facility and forest operations are owned by Stora Enso to a degree of around 80%, with the remaining 20% being held by its regional partners and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Stora Enso added.
To complete the divestment process, Stora Enso will collaborate with all stakeholders. The goal is to identify a viable option that will benefit both the employees and the activities in Beihai in the future.
The plan aligns with the firm’s strategic goal to strengthen its position in the fibre-based packaging market. This divestment will allow the firm to accelerate its strategy by focusing on cost-efficient locations serving the global packaging market.
The pulp and paper firm has recently announced an investment in Oulu, Finland, and the pending acquisition of De Jong Packaging Group.