A major blow for the world's largest kraftliner plant. On Thursday, March 21, 2024, a gas explosion occurred in the evaporation unit of the Kemi bioproducts plant in Finland belonging to Metsä Fibre of the Metsä Group. Three people were slightly exposed to hydrogen sulfide and returned to work after a health check.
The Kemi paperboard mill, which employs 150 people, is part of the Kemi integrated plant. With 465,000 tonnes of white kraft produced per year, it is the world's largest kraftliner manufacturer. Although undamaged by the explosion, the mill is no longer operational, as unbleached pulp cannot be produced without chemical recovery from the bioproducts plant.
Due to repair work on the evaporation unit, carton production at the plant will be interrupted for 10 to 12 weeks.
The company is studying the possibility of restarting cartonboard production at a significantly lower level than normal during this work, and is exploring the possibility of offering its customers other alternative products.
The financial impact of the production interruption will be specified at a later date.
