In 2001 Stora Enso completed a major investment project, building the new short-fibre pulp line 3 and modernising and converting the existing pulp line 2 to long-fibre pulp production. The investment has proved very successful and paid for itself even sooner than expected. Production targets were exceeded in the third year after start-up.

The top-class pulp yields high quality boards and papers. The short-fibre pulp is very pure, which is essential for boards for the food industry. The quality of the long-fibre pulp has also improved since the investment, especially in strength.

Quality pulp for quality boards

The Imatra pulp mills form by far the biggest pulping complex in Europe and one of the biggest and most advanced in the world. It is also the world’s only manufacturer of liquid packaging boards that produces all four different types of pulp required: bleached pine, bleached birch, unbleached pine and chemi-thermomechanical spruce pulp. Since the investment, no pulp needs to be purchased, which reduces costs and enhances quality as there is no need to use dried pulp. Most of the pulp is used by the mills at Imatra, but a small proportion is supplied to Stora Enso’s mills at Skoghall and Fors in Sweden.