Finland's Stora eyes billion-euro investment in plastic-free packaging

By Anne Kauranen

HELSINKI – Finland’s Stora Enso is contemplating an funding of as much as 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) to supply extra client packaging board as prospects more and more search renewable supplies over plastic, the forestry firm stated on Wednesday.

It stated prospects resembling meals group Nestle or on-line vogue retailer Zalando are responding to client calls for by changing plastic with wood-based board in packaging.

To satisfy the rising demand, Stora Enso is exploring the potential of changing an idle paper machine at its Oulu website in Finland right into a line to supply renewable client packaging board.

The plan would contain an funding price 900 million to 1 billion euros ($1-1.13 billion) spanning 2023-2026, it stated.

“If the world doesn’t remodel and our funding case stays the place it's, then there may be very excessive probability that it will undergo,” Hannu Kasurinen, Stora’s head of packaging supplies, informed Reuters.

As soon as a feasibility examine is accomplished, Kasurinen stated a closing funding resolution might be taken within the fourth quarter with start-up in 2025.

The conversion would imply potential annual high line gross sales of 800 million euros, an 8% enhance from the group’s present stage, whereas packaging supplies and options already account for almost 50% of Stora’s gross sales.

“For the primary time, we've seen that the demand for wood-based packaging materials has overtaken that of plastic and that's very encouraging,” Kasurinen stated.

Stora Enso stated it's the largest client board maker in Europe the place it competes with Finland’s Metsa Board and Austria’s Mayr Melnhof Karton, whereas globally it competes with U.S. corporations Westrock and Graphic Packaging.

($1 = 0.8818 euros)

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