FINLAND – Finnish pulp and paper maker Stora Enso has made multiple investments in Europe to bolster its focus on specialized pulp grades.
The company invested US$40.4 million (€38m) in unbleached kraft pulp (UKP) production at its Enocell site in Finland, as well as US$44.7 million (€42m) to improve fluff pulp production at its facility in Skutskär, Sweden.
The investment in Stora Enso’s Enocell site will allow it to produce UKP and Nordic Bleached Softwood Kraft pulp flexibly.
Reducing the facility’s use of bleaching chemicals will reduce its carbon emissions by 20% for every tonne of UKP it produces, compared with the equivalent amount of bleached pulp produced.
The company expects the investment to close in the last quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, Stora Enso said its investment in its Skutskär site will strengthen its position as one of Europe’s leading producers of fluff pulp.
The site will be equipped to meet the demand for specific roll sizes, improve work safety and increase its fluff pulp production. The investment is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
Stora Enso expects the investments to address the growing demand for non-bleached renewable packaging materials and hygiene products.
Both investments are inside the company’s capital expenditure guidance.
Stora Enso Biomaterials division executive vice-president Johanna Hagelberg said: “Through optimizing our pulp portfolio, we advance the more specialized pulp offering, while also improving production and sustainability performance.
“This will allow us to meet the rapidly growing demand for using the unbleached and less bleached pulp in packaging and hygiene applications.”
Stora Enso’s Enocell site can produce up to 630,000 tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp a year, while its facility in Skutskär has an annual capacity of 545,000 tonnes of fluff, softwood and hardwood pulps.
Earlier last month, the Finnish company invested US$82 million (€80 million) to centralize and modernize the wood handling process at its Imatra Mill.
The funds have been used to boost the facility’s capacity for premium packaging board production and decrease water consumption throughout the debarking process.
The Imatra Mill consists of two industrial units – Kaukopää and Tainionkoski – which manufacture pulp and consumer packaging boards.
The new line at Kaukopää Mill will now be used to centrally debark and handle all wood. A third debarking line was installed as part of the project, chip handling technologies were improved, and the architecture of the existing wood yard was changed.
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