Metsä Tissue Installing Two New Tissue Lines, Expanding Converting Capacity in Poland

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Metsä Tissue Oyj, Finland, part of Metsä Group, a European tissue and cooking paper products supplier, has signed a credit agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EUR 35 million, 8.5-year loan will finance further operational improvements in Poland and Russia. 

Ongoing investments at the company’s Krapkowice mill in Poland are part of a three-year development program aiming to strengthen the company’s market position in Continental Europe, improve its production capacity, and enhance its brand and service offering. Productivity will additionally be improved by consolidating Polish tissue base paper production at one mill and by further standardizing technology.

Two new Voith tissue machines are included in the Krapkowice mill expansion. PM 7, currently starting up, will have a production capacity of 35,000 metric tpy. The second 35,000 metric tpy machine, PM 8, will be installed next year. The program also includes the rebuild of PM 6 at Krapkowice, which has a capacity of 17,000 metric tpy. PM 5 has been permanently shut down, as has PM 11 in Konstancin-Jeziorna, near Warsaw. After the project has been completed, the Krapkowice mill will have a capacity of approximately 90,000 metric tpy. A new converting line also will be installed at Krapkowice.

In addition to boosting productivity and energy efficiency, the program will also yield significant environmental benefits such as lower energy consumption and carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions. Finally, part of the EBRD loan will be used for a new converting plant in Russia. The company will relocate its converting operations to a new converting and distribution facility in Vorsino, about 55 km away from its existing converting plant in Naro-Fominsk, which will be closed.