Finnish company Metsä Group has announced the recommencement of operations at its bioproduct mill and paperboard mill in Kemi, Finland.

Earlier this month, Metsä announced that its Kemi mills were undergoing a scheduled maintenance and connection shutdown between 10 and 20 September.

During this shutdown, the paperboard mill was prepared for the deployment of new investments and to finalise connections between the bioproduct mill and the paperboard mill.

The company said that the operations will restart department by department.

Deliveries of pulp from the mills are planned to start this October.

Metsä CEO and president Ilkka Hämälä said: “Metsä Group’s products replace fossil materials in people’s daily lives. Pulp and paperboard are used as raw materials for numerous consumer goods, and we are able to produce them in Kemi with considerably lower emissions.

“Finland needs sustainable investment that creates employment, income and a strong belief in the future.”

According to Metsä, the modernisation and investment process at its mills will boost the annual production capacity of its white-top kraft liner by approximately 40,000 tonnes (t) to 465,000t.

This increase in production capacity is further expected to strengthen the Kemi paperboard mill’s existing position as a major producer of coated white-top kraft liners, which are mainly used as a surface material for corrugated packaging.

Additionally, the integration of the bioproduct and paperboard mills in Kemi will significantly reduce the paperboard mill’s water and energy consumption based on per tonne of paperboard produced, by up to 40% and 5%, respectively.

The bioproduct mill currently has a capacity of producing 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year.

The company said its bioproduct mill uses zero fossil fuels and is on track to be completely waste-free by 2030.

All these efforts are in line with Metsä’s 2030 sustainability targets and will further help its customers to move towards sustainable businesses.