| Metsä Fibre and Lujabetoni sign preliminary agreement on reinforced concrete pile delivery for Kemi mill in Finland |
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Metsä Fibre and Lujabetoni have entered into a preliminary agreement on reinforced concrete pile delivery for the planned Kemi bioproduct mill. This would be the largest ever pile delivery in Finland. In accordance with the preliminary agreement, Lujabetoni will deliver around 550,000 metres of piles to be driven into the ground. The volume of the order represents nearly 50% of the entire annual pile market in Finland.
Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, is planning a modern bioproduct mill in Kemi. If implemented, the mill will produce 1.5 million tonnes softwood and hardwood pulp per year, in addition to other bioproducts, and will be the most efficient wood-processing plant in the northern hemisphere. The new mill is intended to replace the current pulp mill in Kemi. The decision concerning this Euro 1.5 billion investment will be made by Metsä Group at the earliest this autumn 2020, after the environmental permit process has been completed.
The large scope of the Kemi bioproduct mill project requires Lujabetoni to expand its pile production. A new pile production line, with a capacity of 1,200 kilometres of piles per year, will be built at Lujabetoni's current Kärsämäki factory in North Ostrobothnia specifically for this project.
The new line will be one of the largest in Europe. This "pop-up factory" is Lujabetoni's fourth pile factory. To illustrate the capacity of the factory, it alone could produce all the reinforced concrete piles needed in Finland each year, instead of the current ten or so factories. If the bioproduct mill is implemented, the Kärsämäki factory will hire around 20 new employees. The project will also offer jobs for many of Lujabetoni's subcontractors and partners. The preliminary agreement is conditional on Metsä Group's investment decision on the Kemi bioproduct mill.
The Kemi bioproduct mill project is progressing as planned. Currently, financing negotiations and the logistics required for the new mill are being advanced in addition to the environmental permits. The implementation planning started at the beginning of August 2020. This means the detailed planning of the mill's technology, construction, installations and commissioning, as well as preparation for the construction phase. The planning work will be carried out in cooperation with the four main implementation partners: Valmet, ABB, AFRY and Fimpec. More than 400 people have been working in the implementation planning organisation since the beginning of August.
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