On its expanding mill area in Äänekoski, Finland, Metsä Group plans to build a new Kerto® LVL mill. The final decision on the project, which is estimated to be worth over EUR 200 million, will be made once a local comprehensive plan for the area is completed. Around 375,000 cubic meters of Finnish logs are scheduled to be used in the new Kerto LVL mill.

According to plans, the new mill's output will primarily be supplied to consumers in Europe and Asia. Kerto LVL products that are lightweight, environmentally friendly, and speed up construction have a bright future, notably in industrial prefabrication, modular building, and traditional project construction.

The development of a hybrid element structure integrating concrete and Kerto LVL products is also progressing well, which will help to drive demand even higher.

The new mill's annual Kerto LVL production capacity will be around 150,000 cubic meters, and it will be built in phases between 2022 and 2026. This represents a 50% increase in Metsä Group's existing Kerto LVL manufacturing. In terms of technology and efficiency, the mill will be a global leader in its area.

The new mill would create roughly 140 new jobs directly, as well as 200 person-years in its immediate value chain. The construction phase's employment impact is expected to be 1,000 person-years.

“We create profitable growth by processing  Finnish wood, and our operations are guided by the principles of sustainability. In the next few years, we will be increasing our production of products that store carbon over a longer period of time, and the new Kerto LVL mill is the next step in this process. As wood is the most environmentally friendly construction material, we believe that the demand for resource-efficient and high-quality Kerto LVL will continue to be strong. Finland needs more investments and a strong belief in the future,” according to Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.

Metsä Group has started a local planning process with the city of Äänekoski with the goal of expanding the production of mechanical wood products at the Äänekoski integrated mill.

A local detailed plan for the about 150-hectare land to the south of Metsä Group's present mill site, which is designated for industrial operations, is in the works. The area has a legal local master plan, with Metsä Fibre, a Metsä Group company, owning the most of it. The planning phase is planned to last through the first quarter of 2022.

The region for which the plan is being developed will allow for a large expansion of mechanical forest sector production – even after the new Kerto LVL mill is completed.

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