Stora Enso Invests in Coreboard Production at Wisconsin Rapids Mill

Helsinki, Finland, 21 December 2006 -- Stora Enso's subsidiary, Corenso, will rebuild and restart paper machine (PM) 12 for coreboard production at the Wisconsin Rapids (Wisconsin, USA) mill in response to customer needs.

The capital expenditure of approximately EUR 27 million (USD 35 million) is designed to enhance asset and product quality, and improve cost competitiveness of Corenso's North American operations. This investment also includes an upgrade of Corenso's recycled fiber facility. As a result of this investment, board machine (BM) 13, which currently produces coreboard, will be shut down, as it has limited prospects for continued productivity.

The rebuild will start in May 2007, and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2008.

The rebuilt PM12 will be one of the most cost-competitive coreboard machines in North America. Production capacity will increase from 36,000 to 85,000 metric tons per year and the raw material will continue to be recycled paper and board. The coreboard will be converted to cores, for both production at Corenso's own plants in North America and for sale to the North American core industry. End-users include paper and board, plastic film, and chemical yarn producers.

"Wisconsin Rapids mill has a rather central location to service our customers in North America. Through this investment, which is in line with our strategy to be a global provider of coreboard, cores and tubes and related services, we can improve and secure the profitability of Corenso's business in North America," says Pekka Suursalmi, managing director of Corenso United Oy Ltd.

Corenso United Oy Ltd. is a leading producer of coreboard and cores and tubes for industrial use. The main users of cores and tubes made from Corenso's coreboard include manufacturers of paper and board, textile yarn, plastic films and flexible packaging, and metal foil. Corenso has four coreboard mills and 15 core factories in Europe, China, and North America, and associated companies in Canada and Spain. It supplies customers in more than 70 countries all over the world. Corenso is part of Stora Enso's Industrial Packaging Business area, which produces corrugated packaging, cores, core boards, corrugated board raw material, and laminating papers.