FINLAND (News release) -- Metsä Group's Kemi bioproduct mill is ramping up towards full capacity production and pulp deliveries to customers have started. It is planned to take approximately one year to reach full production capacity at the mill.

"When starting up a mill of this size, it is already clear that the production process must be optimised and the right process conditions must be sought to ensure continuous efficient production and high product quality. We have been actively working on this with our equipment suppliers and the work has paid off. Production continuity, production volumes and product quality have developed in the right direction. Full production capacity will be reached as planned in autumn next year," says Tomi Seppä, mill manager of the bioproduct mill.

"At the woodyard, we also introduced new technology for unloading wood raw material and feeding it into the process, the first in the world. Building and fine-tuning the autonomy of the woodyard's autonomous cranes and training the staff requires time to achieve flawless operation. This, too, is progressing according to the planned programme, and the efficiency and quality of the woodyard operations are constantly improving," Seppä continues.

Construction of the bioproduct mill started in February 2021 and took about two and a half years to complete. The Euro 2.02 billion mill will produce 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp annually, as well as numerous other bioproducts, including 2 terawatt hours of renewable electricity.

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