The Kemi mill has been a forerunner in the product development of coated white kraftliners. Production of brown kraftliner started in 1971 and the capacity was 180,000 tonnes per year (tpy).
In 1975, the mill’s bleaching plant was completed, and the production of mottled liner began soon after. Following investments, the production of white top kraftliner began in 1986.
In 1990, the degree of upgrading was further raised with the launch of coating, followed by investments made in double-coating in 2011.
From January 2023, Kemi mill’s full focus will be on the development and enhancing the availability of coated white kraftliners to meet with the growing demand.
Today there are three different coated grades in the product range and, as a result of continuous process development and numerous investments over the years, the production capacity of the mill has more than doubled to 425,000 tpy. Metsä Board’s current development program is a EUR 67 million investment that will increase the production capacity of the mill’s coated white kraftliners by a further 40,000 tonnes and help improve the mill’s sustainability performance.
“The basis for the development of the coated grades has from the very beginning been meeting the most demanding customer needs and anticipating future trends of the end user industry,” said Panu Räsänen, Product Manager WKL, Metsä Board.
Kemi Board Mill
Metsä Board Kemi mill is a leading manufacturer of premium white-top kraftliners, which are used in end-products as surface liners in consumer, retail and shelf-ready corrugated packaging for branded products, such as household appliances and electronics, beverages, food, fruit and vegetables.
The mill employes 125 people and has the capacity to produce 425,000 tpy of kraftliner.
The mill is located on the shores of the Bothnian Sea, in the Kemijoki delta. The pulp and energy required by the mill is supplied by Metsä Fibre’s pulp mill on the same site. The strong synergies of the integration will support the development of the mill also in the future. The ongoing development program will increase the annual krafliner capacity by approximately 40,000 tonnes.
A Metsä Fibre bioproduct mill is being built on the site with start-up expected in 2023.
All the wood raw material the mill uses is traceable and comes from sustainably managed Northern European forests, which are either PEFC or FSC® certified, or meet the criteria for controlled origin. The mill is committed to Metsä Board’s target of achieving completely fossil-free mills and products by the end of 2030.
Metsä Board is a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards with a focus on lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraft liners.
SOURCE: Metsä Board