BIOPRODUCT MILL INDUSTRY NEWS


The next generation M


By Antti Ratia, Metsä Group*


etsä Group’s new bioproduct mill takes pulp production to a new level. In the mill, every single bit of the wood raw


material and production side streams are utilised to achieve maximum material and energy efficiency.


Äänekoski, a town of 19,000 people surrounded by lakes and vast softwood forests in Central Finland, is now home to Northern Europe’s largest bioproduct mill. In April, 2015, Metsä Group, a forest industry group focusing on tissue and cooking papers, paperboard, pulp and wood products, decided to replace its old pulp mill in the town with a modern, next generation bioproduct mill. At 1.2 billion Euros, Metsä Group’s investment in Äänekoski is the largest investment in the history of the Finnish forest industry.


The old pulp mill had started production in 1985 and was therefore approaching the end of its operating life cycle. The choice was between a total renovation of the existing mill or then a new mill. The construction of


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