“This is an opportunity to take advantage of two market forces, where one can see a decreasing global market for paper but an increasing global market for board. It is an opportunity to grow in the containerboard market at competitive investment cost,” says Hannu Alalauri, SVP Packaging Solutions at Stora Enso Renewable Packaging.

If the investment is approved following the feasibility study, the capital expenditure for the conversion is estimated to be in the range of EUR 80 to 100 million and in line with Stora Enso’s investment criteria.

Varkaus mill, which employs 260 people, has one paper machine with an annual capacity of 285,000 t/y of uncoated fine paper. The potential capacity of the board machine would be about 350,000 t/y.