One of the world’s largest pulp and containerboard mills is now back online after a gas explosion damaged critical infrastructure at Metsä Board’s Kemi mill in March.
Wood Central understands the accident caused major damage to the world’s most advanced bioproduct mill. Three workers were exposed to hydrogen sulphide in the fallout and were referred for a health check – before being cleared back for work.
According to a media statement, Metsä Board confirmed that whilst the incident did not damage the Kemi kraft liner mill, it was forced to shut down “because unbleached pulp needed by the board mill could not be produced without the chemical from the damaged bioproduct mill.”
“To ensure the high usability and the planned lifespan of the evaporation plant, the units damaged in the explosion will be completely replaced later to be determined,” Metsä Board said.
At its peak, the Kemi containerboard mill produces 465,000 tonnes of white-top kraft liner every year, whilst the bioproduct mill capacity stands at 1 million tonnes of softwood pulp, 300,000 tonnes of hardwood pulp and 180,000 tonnes of unbleached pulp.
Opened in 2022, the mill uses an innovative process to take all the advantages possible when producing pulp and to replace fossil fuels with bioproducts, billed as a huge step towards sustainability and a big boost for Finland’s pledge to drive a green economy.
The latest setback comes after Metsä Group joined Stora Endo and UPM in closing pulp and paper mills after Finnish workers agreed to a two-week “strike “walkout” over recent changes to the labour market in March – which caused forest-based economic activity to drop 40% for the year to April.
The controversy centres around the union’s continued opposition to the government’s planned changes to labour market legislation, which will see the government change the definition of employment contracts and conditions.
Finland is one of the world’s largest paper producers and, among the three companies, was responsible for producing more than 8.7 million metric tons of pulp in 2021.
- Check out Wood Central’s special feature for more information about the Finnish forest products industry and its transition after Russia was sanctioned.
