Leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction, and paper, Stora Enso, has completed negotiations concerning the consolidation of its book paper production and the permanent closure of one of the two paper machines at the Anjalankoski site. The closure will take place during the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Finnish company announced a plan to close one of the two paper machines permanently and concentrate all book paper production to one line at the integrated Anjalankoski site due to the prevailing weak demand in paper and high input costs.
The closure of the line that produces uncoated mechanical grades will cut the site’s annual capacity by 2,50,000 tonnes and sales by approximately 100 million euros. The closure will affect 89 people, including 50 dismissals, with a majority of these redundancies managed through pension arrangements.
Hannu Kasurinen, Executive Vice President, Packaging Materials, Stora Enso, says, “While it is unfortunate that redundancies have to be made, we are pleased that the number of employees affected is significantly lower than anticipated. Stora Enso will continue to harness the Anjalankoski site’s synergies between board and paper production and with the remaining paper machine, the group will be able to continue producing its selection of book paper grades.”
The integrated site at Anjalankoski is reported under the Packaging Materials division since the beginning of 2023. The site includes the Ingerois packaging board production unit and the Anjala paper production unit, the latter of which was previously reported under the now dissolved Paper division.
Stora Enso is one of the largest private forest owners in the world, with forest assets valued at 8.3 billion euros in 2022.
