AFRY engineering partner in Metsä Board’s new folding boxboard mill pre-engineering in Finland


Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, and AFRY have agreed on an engineering assignment, when the company plans to build a new folding boxboard mill in Kaskinen mill site, Finland.

Metsä Board has started pre-engineering for a new folding boxboard mill with an annual capacity of approximately 800,000 tonnes at the Kaskinen mill site in Finland. AFRY has received an assignment for pre-engineering, which includes architectural, infrastructure, building technology, and structural engineering. In the pre-engineering phase, in terms of construction, e.g., wood construction will be promoted, and existing mill site infrastructure will be developed. As part of the pre-engineering, an environmental impact assessment and an environmental permit process have been launched.

Demand for packaging made from renewable raw materials that replace plastic packages will continue to grow. This demand will be met with more sustainable packaging solutions that supports the transition to a circular economy.

The pre-engineering for the new folding boxboard mill is based on fossil-free production and world-class resource and production efficiency. Thanks to the best available technology, the consumption of raw materials, energy, and water per tonne of folding boxboard produced would be significantly lower when compared with the existing mills.

”Our plans are strongly guided by responsibility. In addition to resource and production efficiency, we also aim for world-class environmental efficiency. I am happy that we can utilize AFRY’s wide experience in this important project,” says Tero Ojala, Project Director, Metsä Board.

“We are grateful for Metsä’s trust in AFRY in this sustainable project, which is in line with our values, and where we can utilize our long experience in the forest industry. In cooperation with Metsä, we are also developing new cooperation models which bring inspiring dimension to the project team,” says Janne Ranz, Head of the Engineering unit, AFRY Process Industries division, Finland.

Metsä Board estimates that the possible investment decision could be made in 2024 at the earliest. The value of the order for AFRY has not been disclosed.