Metsä Board Corporation Stock exchange release 3 May 2016 at 9.30 am EET
Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is launching an efficiency improvement programme at the Husum integrated mill in Sweden. The efficiency improvement programme concerns all operations at the mill.
Metsä Board has completed a EUR 170 million investment programme at Husum, aiming to improve its result by EUR 50 million as of 2018. In 2015, the company closed down two paper machines at Husum and converted one paper machine to produce linerboard. In addition, it started up a new folding boxboard production line at Husum in February 2016. The investment programme also included improvements to the integrated mill's pulp mill and port.
The efficiency improvement programme targets minimum of EUR 10 million annual cost savings. The company will also begin charting the options for further development for the integrated mill.
“We've made a successful transition from paper production to paperboard at Husum, and next we will harmonise operating methods and eliminate overlaps,” says Metsä Board's CEO, Mika Joukio. “The Husum integrated mill is one of Europe's largest paperboard producers, and it has all prerequisites to be the most profitable unit in the industry as well.”
The measures to improve efficiency will begin as soon as possible, and the impacts on result are expected to be visible already during the current year. The company will report on the progress of the efficiency improvement programme in its’ interim reports and separately, as necessary.
METSÄ BOARD CORPORATION
Further information:
Markus Holm, CFO, tel. +358 10 465 4913
Katri Sundström, Head of Investor Relations, tel. +358 400 976 333
Metsä Board is a leading European producer of folding boxboards and white linerboards made from fresh forest fibres. Its lightweight paperboards are developed as the perfect fit for consumer goods, retail-ready and food service packaging. The pure fresh forest fibres Metsä Board uses are a renewable resource, traceable to origin in northern forests.
The global sales network of Metsä Board supports customers worldwide, including brand owners, converters and merchants. In 2015, the company’s sales totalled EUR 2.0 billion, and it has approximately 2,600 employees. Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.