Investments

MM Kotkamills invests 30 million euros in cardboard sheet cutting

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MM Kotkamills, a subsidiary of Mayr-Melnhof, has begun construction of its new sheet cutting plant at its plant in Kotka, Finland. Construction began last February, and by early 2024 the company will be able to deliver board sheets from the plant. So far, Kotkamills’ paperboard has been delivered in rolls, while food packaging board from the plant has been cut by external slitting facilities.

The investment was first announced in May last year. At the time, Mayr-Melnhof estimated 30 million euros for the project.

The new Kotkamills building covers nearly 5,000 square meters and will house an automated reel warehouse, two carton cross cutters, and an automated packaging line. The two cross-cutters will be equipped with an automatic core and scrap management system. The latter innovation will enable the company to reintroduce cardboard cutting waste back into the carton manufacturing process, thus reducing primary fiber consumption.

“There is a strong demand for the paperboard produced by our paperboard machine, which we started in 2016,” explains Päivi Suutari, managing director of MM Kotkamills. “The investment in cross cutters will strengthen our market position at competitive costs. The investment project is expected to increase the competitiveness of paperboard production by increasing flexibility and reducing transportation costs. The main mission of our paper mill is to promote the circular economy by using production side streams and making efficient use of fiber as raw material. Thanks to the investment, we will also be able to easily recycle cardboard broken from cutting in the production process.”

The project will begin immediately in terms of engineering and procurement. The first cutter is expected to be operational at the end of 2023 and the second about six months later. The investment will create employment in several areas during construction, and when completed, MM Kotkamills will create several new manufacturing jobs.