Stora Enso has completed the conversion of its Oulu paper mill for production of packaging board. The pulp mill has been in production since mid-January.
The project began in May 2019 following a decision to invest EUR 350 million. The packaging machine will now be ramped up during the first quarter and is expected to reach its designed production capacity by the end of this year.
Completing the Oulu Mill conversion is an important step in our transformation and responds to increasing global market demand for circular and eco-friendly packaging materials, says President and CEO Annica Bresky.
In the conversion project, one of the two former paper machines was converted for packaging board production.
The pulp mill and drying machine were modified to produce unbleached brown pulp (530 000 tonnes annually), out of which about 150 000 tonnes are sold externally.
When fully ramped up within a year, Oulu Mill will generate a EUR 300 million annual sales increase for the Packaging Materials division.
Approximately 400 people are employed on the mill site, including facilities personnel and logistics staff.
The mill’s wood consumption, mainly purchased from private forest owners in Northern Finland, will increase by 0.5 million m3 to 2.4 million m3 annually.
