Metsä Group to Halt Production at Kemi Mills in Finland Due to Paper Workers' Union Strike

Metsä Group plans to begin the shutdown of its bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland, on March 17 due to ongoing Finnish Paper Workers' Union strikes.

March 14, 2024 - Metsä Group announced that due to the ongoing strikes (Finnish Paper Workers' Union) in Finland, production at Metsä Group's Kemi bioproduct mill and paperboard mill will stop.

According to Metsä Group, the bioproduct mill will be shut down as of 18 March 2024. The shutdown will begin on Sunday, March 17.

"During the first week of strikes, we will have to limit the bioproduct mill's production to a minimum, but as rail transports of wood raw material are interrupted, we will shut down the mill completely. The Kemi paperboard mill will come to a halt after the bioproduct mill has been shut down," Metsä Group said in a written statement.

"The shutdowns will have a significant financial impact as well as a significant impact on customer deliveries," the company added.

Metsä Group's new EUR 2.02 billion integrated Kemi bioproduct mill came into operation in September of 2023. The mill, which has been ramping up production, is expected to reach its full production capacity in autumn 2024 and will have the capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp.

The Kemi paperboard mill, which was recently modernized, has the capacity to produce 465,000 tonnes per year of white top kraftliner.

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy with a focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

SOURCE: Metsä Group