FINLAND (News release) -- Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, inaugurated its upgraded folding boxboard machine in Husum, Sweden, on the 11th of April. Invited to the inauguration ceremony were, among others, project partners and representatives of Örnsköldsvik municipality, Swedish parliament and the forest industry.

In 2016, Metsä Board started up a new folding boxboard machine, BM1, in Husum with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes/year. An investment of EUR 230 million was completed in 2023 to increase the annual capacity of the BM1 folding boxboard machine to respond to the growing demand for sustainably produced packaging materials that support the circular economy. With an increased annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes of folding boxboard, the BM1 is Europe's largest and most modern of its kind and is run with 98% renewable energy.

"With the investment in the folding boxboard capacity at Husum, Metsä Board is well positioned to meet the growing demand for fibre-based packaging materials. We are dedicated to supporting our customers with high quality and resource-efficient solutions that help replace fossil-based materials and support the circular economy," says Mika Joukio, CEO, Metsä Board.

The project has included upgrades to the entire board mill as well as increasing the warehouse capacity at the port. The main parts of the investment are the extension of the board machine's drying section, a new winder and an automated reel handling system. The new, fully automatic machine roll transfer and control system is unique in the paperboard industry. "The combination of most modern available technologies with a very high degree of automation solutions gives us both a safer mill as well as lots of new improvement opportunities," says Olov Winblad von Walter, VP Husum Board and Pulp Mill.

Metsä Board Husum has undergone an extensive investment programme between 2019-2023. The first phase was completed in December 2022, including a new recovery boiler and turbine at the Husum pulp mill with an investment cost of EUR 380 million. The new modern equipment and processes enables Husum mill to significantly increase bio-based energy production and energy efficiency, contributing to Metsä Board's target of fossil free mills by the end of 2030.

The Husum mill is one of Örnsköldsvik municipality's largest employers and plays an important role for the region and in the large-scale conversion to the bioeconomy. Husum's products play an important role in providing alternatives to fossil-based materials in consumer packaging globally, the main markets being Europe and North America.

Metsä Board Husum mill in Sweden is an integrated board and pulp mill producing folding boxboard, uncoated white kraftliner and bleached chemical pulp.