FINLAND (News release) -- Metsä Group's Kemi mills are getting ready for a maintenance and connection shutdown to prepare for the deployment of the largest ever investment of the forest industry in Finland - the new bioproduct mill and paperboard mill expansion in Kemi.

The shutdown will begin on Sunday, 10 September 2023, and the aim is to start up the mills on 20 September 2023.

The work carried out prior to start-up will ensure the mills come online smoothly and safely. During the shutdown, the existing pulp mill will be safely shut down, the paperboard mill's new investments will be deployed, and the connections between the new bioproduct mill and the paperboard mill will be finalised.

The new Kemi bioproduct mill will annually produce some 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp and many other bioproducts, including 2 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity. The mill features world-class production, environmental and energy efficiency, and despite the considerable increase in production capacity, the mill's emissions are lower than the limits specified in the currently valid environmental permit for the existing Kemi pulp mill.

At the Kemi paperboard mill, renewal and bottleneck investments have been carried out to increase the annual production capacity of white top kraftliner by approximately 40,000 tonnes. The investments will reduce the mill's water consumption by 40% and energy use by 5% per tonne of paperboard produced.