Two cross-cutting lines with automated core and waste handling are to be installed at the MM Kotkamills plant in Kotka, Finland. The EUR 30 million investment will strengthen MM Kotkamills' position as a supplier of board to the European market.
The site, with 500 employees, generates 381 million euros in sales by combining three complementary activities: MM Kotkamills operates a sawmill that provides wood for carpentry and construction products, and the by-products from this activity are then used as raw materials to manufacture kraft paper and cardboard.
"The main mission of our mill is to promote the circular economy by using secondary production streams and efficiently using fibers as raw material." says Päivi Suutari, Managing Director of MM Kotkamills.
The installation of these cutting lines is also a step in this direction. "With this investment, we will be able to easily recycle the cardboard scrap from the die-cutting process into the manufacturing process."
The project is expected to increase the competitiveness of board production by increasing flexibility and reducing transportation costs.
The first cutting line should be operational by the end of 2023 and the second by June 2024.
The machine investment will be accompanied by the creation of new jobs.
Kotkamills has joined the European folding carton and cardboard producer Mayr-Melnhof (MM) in August 2021.
