Our bioproduct mill in Kemi is the most efficient wood processing plant in northern hemisphere. The value of the investment is EUR 2.02 billion and it is the largest investment ever made by the Finnish forest industry in Finland. The Kemi bioproduct mill is the world top regarding to material, environmental and energy efficiency. It will not use any fossil fuels at all.
The Kemi bioproduct mill will produce some 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts. It will also produce 2.0 TWh of renewable electricity per year, which equals to roughly 2,5 percent of Finnish total electricity production and together with Äänekoski bioproduct mill roughly 5 per cent.
Kemi bioproduct increases the annual value of Finland’s exports by approximately EUR 0.5 billion, and the positive annual income effect in Finland from wood sales and domestic purchases is also approximately EUR 0.5 billion. The new mill employs approximately 2.500 people in its entire direct value chain in Finland, of which about 1.500 are totally new jobs. The mill itself employs 250 persons at the mill site and the entire Metsä Group’s Kemi mills’ area employs about 500 people. With the investment to the new mill, these employments are secured for next decades.
The new mill enables the integrated production of new bioproducts and resource-efficient use of the side streams. The mill's closed cycles have been advanced to a great extent, where water and chemicals are recycled and returned to the process to be used again. The odorous gases are processed into sulfuric acid, which the mill needs, for example, in the production of pine oil. Thanks to the sulfuric acid plant, sulfate discharges into waterways can be minimized.
The bioproduct mill further expands the diverse ecosystem formed by the region’s bioeconomy companies, which manufacture future bioproducts from wood raw material, pulp and production side streams.
The production capacity of the new bioproduct mill in Kemi is over double of the old pulp mill. However, it does not exceed the emission limits specified in the environmental permit of the previous mill, and it also meets the requirements of the waste water permit.
We cooperate closely with local stakeholders, and annually support initiatives promoting the wellbeing of children and young people. We actively participate in various events related to our branch of industry, as well as in career and recruitment events, and regularly organise visits for stakeholders. We also organise an annual road safety campaign for primary schools in the region.
