Espoo, Finland 29 April 2016 -- Valmet will supply a modernization of the brown stock washing plant of the dissolving line to Södra Cell's Mörrum pulp mill in Sweden. The rebuild is part of the second stage of a long-term initiative at Södra Cell Mörrum mill.

The brown stock washing plant rebuild will increase the mill's pulp production capacity by 45,000 tons. The project will commence in spring 2016 and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The order is included in Valmet's second quarter 2016 orders received. The value of the order will not be disclosed. A rebuild with this scope is usually valued below EUR 10 million.

"The successful cooperation with Valmet on the dissolving line that began in 2011 continues with the next step. The investment will enable increased production and increased opportunities to further enhance the production quality of our dissolving pulp," says Martin Säll, Engineer and Project Manager at Södra Cell Mörrum.

During the strategy period 2014-2020, Södra Cell Mörrum will gradually offer larger volumes and expand production capacity from 380 000 tons to 500 000 tons of which 200 000 tons will consist of high quality dissolving pulp.

Technical details about the delivery

The modernization of the brown stock washing plant mainly contains the installation of three new Valmet TwinRoll presses, two before the oxygen stage and one before the bleach plant.

"The latest Valmet TwinRoll generation takes dewatering and washing to a new level by increasing capacity by up to 30 percent, improving consistency, and optimizing operation while minimizing operational and maintenance costs. Our TwinRoll presses have proven their functionality in several dissolving lines over the years. We are confident that this is a good solution for Mörrum mill and look forward to a great collaboration also in this project," says Mikael Gustafsso, Sales Manager at Valmet.

About the customer Södra Cell

Södra is an economic association with a membership base of 51,000 forest owners in southern Sweden. Södra has built up a considerable production of paper pulp, wood products and biofuels. Södra employs about 3,800 people and has four business areas Södra Skog, Södra Cell, Södra Timber and Södra Interiör.

Södra Cell is one of the largest players in the world in the area of softwood pulp and operates three pulp mills in Sweden: Mörrum, Mönsterås and Värö. Södra Cell Mörrum currently produces high-quality pulp and is the only Södra mill to produce textile pulp, for which demand is growing rapidly.

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.