Today, Kotkamills Oy signed agreements totalling EUR 70 million on equipment deliveries for paper machine 2 to be upgraded in the summer of 2016. The deliveries will be divided between Valmet Paperikoneet Oy and Bellmer Vaahto Paper Machinery Oy. This investment of more than EUR 100 million is aimed to convert the paper machine product from magazine paper to packaging boards. The capacity of the board machine will be 400,000 t/a, with the basis weight area of the end product being 150 – 500 g/m2. Primary products include a high-quality Nordic folding boxboard and recyclable barrier board for the food industry. By converting the paper machine product to packaging boards, Kotkamills Oy will secure its position as a globally significant manufacturer of forest industry products.
More and more attention is paid to environmental friendliness when selecting packaging materials. With this investment published today, Kotkamills Oy responds to the far-reaching requests of end customers of the packaging business to introduce high-quality recyclable barrier board to the market. The new product includes the protection layers required to prevent grease, liquids or moisture from absorbing into the package. The versatility of the board is increased by its heat sealing capacity, cleanness, lightness and first-class printing surface. In the manufacturing process, special attention will be paid to the effective utilisation of wood raw material, and the minimisation of energy, bleaching chemicals and water consumption per each produced ton. A patent is pending for innovations associated with the manufacturing process.
Unlike other generally used plastic-coated boards, the barrier board of Kotkamills can be recycled without any special measures. Only printing ink, if any, will be removed in recycling. If unprinted, the board can be reused by re-pulping it and using it directly in the paper or board mill’s processes. The innovative manufacturing process of the new machine enables the recyclable and environmentally friendly board used in consumer packages to be manufactured cost-efficiently and flexibly without the price of the recyclable product being any obstacle to its use.
The next-generation packaging board with zero plastic content facilitates the recycling activities of consumers as well as food producers and cafeteria and fast food chains that use large volumes of board packages, as there is no need to sort plastic separately. This directly reduces the total costs of the packaging solution.
The construction of the investment will be started at the beginning of 2016. Until then, Kotkamills Oy’s paper machine 2 will produce high-bulk printing paper Solaris, the delivery of which will be continued normally until the end of the second quarter of 2016. The company will also increase its production volume of Absorbex laminating paper and Imprex products through new investments. What is more, the sawn goods produced at the Kotka sawmill will comprise a significant part of the company’s product range.
For more information, please contact:
Markku Hämäläinen, CEO, tel.: +358 40 712 0548, email: markku.hamalainen@kotkamills.com
Yrjö Aho, Business Development Director, tel.: +358 50 573 0919, email: yrjo.aho@kotkamills.com
Kotkamills is a responsible partner that delivers renewable products and performance to its customers’ processes via product innovations created from wood, a renewable raw material. Our key brands include Absorbex® and Imprex®, both innovative laminating paper products for the laminate, plywood and construction industries, and Solaris®, a high bulk, efficient coated printing paper for quality publications. Moreover, Kotkamills also offers ecological, technically sound and visually attractive wood products for demanding joinery and construction. www.kotkamills.com