FINLAND (News release) -- Metsä Wood, the Wood Products Industry of Metsä Group, has inaugurated the new Kerto® LVL line in Punkaharju, Finland. The decision on the investment of 65,000 cubic metre Kerto LVL line was made in December 2017.

"Metsä Group's aim is to create profitable growth by processing Finnish wood. Sustainability guides all our actions - we want to increase the amount of carbon stored in forests and its products, and that is why our biggest investments in recent years have been addressed to increase the production capacity of mechanical forest industry. The new line at Punkaharju is a great example of that," stated Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO, in his opening speech.

The production capacity of Punkaharju's new Kerto LVL line is 65,000 cubic metres and the value of the investment is Euro 52 million. The growing production increases the use of spruce logs by 160,000 cubic metres per year. The new line is expected to reach full production capacity within two years from the start up.