Stora Enso has approved two investments to enhance productivity and improve cost competitiveness at the Kotka Mill in Finland and the Kimberly Mill in the USA.
Stora Enso will invest €30.5 million in PM2 at the Magazine Paper Division's Kotka Mill in Finland. The investment will improve quality and productivity, and serve growing market demand. The project includes investments in the wire and press sections, and a drying capacity increase. The production capacity will increase by 26 000 tonnes to 171 000 tonnes per year. Rebuilding is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2003.
In line with the previously announced North American profit enhancement plan, Stora Enso has also approved a $12.8 million investment to rebuild PM96 at the Kimberly Mill in the USA. The machine will be converted from producing coated mechanical reels (CMR) to coated fine papers (CWF). The production capacity will increase by 35 000 to 185 000 tonnes per year. The project comprises installation of a top former and dilution headbox, and press section upgrade. The machine is scheduled to restart production in May 2003.
The Kotka PM 2 product line manufactures machine finished coated magazine paper (MFC) under the brand name SolarisPress. An important quality aspect of the product is good readability combined with excellent printed gloss, the company claims.
The Kimberly Mill in Northeastern Wisconsin is the largest coated paper production unit of Stora Enso North America. The mill has three paper machines producing coated papers for the Fine Paper, Magazine Paper and Speciality Paper customer groups.
The investment is seen by observers as a bold but positive move in an industry which has remained stagnant over the past couple of years. It is also viewed as a signal that the market could well be on the verge of an upturn as demand is expected to pick up over the coming months.
Stora Enso is an integrated forest products company producing magazine papers, newsprint, fine papers, packaging boards and wood products, areas in which the group is a global market leader. Stora Enso's sales total €13.5 billion and annual paper and board production capacity about 15 million tonnes. Some 43,000 persons are employed in more than 40 countries and the company's shares are listed in Helsinki, New York and Stockholm.