Espoo, Finland 07 June 2016 -- Valmet develops its paper machine clothing production plant in Tampere, Finland by investing in press felt production. The investment is done in order to improve the product technology and production capacity of seamed press felts for the paper, board, tissue and pulp drying machines.

The investment includes a new wide weaving loom, updating of some existing weaving looms and a new fiber opening and blending machinery. The total value of the investment is several million euros and the investment project will be finalized during the first quarter of 2017.

Seamed felts improve safety and efficiency

The investment is done in order to meet the growing market needs as customers are willing to move away from endless felts in older machines. The seamed felt market is growing, especially in North America, where over 70% of the felts used in paper and board machines are endless. Also in Europe, the market of seamed felts is growing. The change from endless felts to seamed ones improves occupational safety and production efficiency at mills. The seamed felt installation is faster and takes much less manpower than installing an endless felt.

"This investment gives us the necessary assets to further develop our leading technology for the growing and demanding seamed felt market. It also ensures our capacity for the coming years to deliver felts that respond to customer needs for optimized production performance. This is also an investment in Valmet's renewed services approach," says Jari Stålhammar, Vice President, Fabrics, Services Business Line at Valmet.

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2015 were approximately EUR 2.9 billion. Our 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.