Valmet and Metsä Fibre have settled their arbitration dispute over the Kemi bioproduct mill in Finland, ending proceedings that began in October 2024. Settlement terms, including any payment, are confidential, and Valmet will record the financial impact as an item affecting comparability in its fourth-quarter 2026 results.
Why this mattersRemoves a multi-year contractual overhang between a leading pulp producer and its mill technology supplier ahead of Valmet's Q4 reporting.
- Metsä Fibre filed for arbitration in October 2024 over the Kemi bioproduct mill, initially claiming about EUR 47 million.
- Metsä Fibre later flagged potential additional claims of about EUR 65 million.
- The open claim against Valmet stood at about EUR 33.5 million at the end of the third quarter of 2026.
- Valmet disputed the claims and pursued counterclaims against Metsä Fibre.
- Settlement terms, including any payment, are confidential.
- Valmet will reflect the financial impact as an item affecting comparability in its Q4 2026 results.
Cartonboard converter Alzamora Group won three categories at the European Carton Excellence Awards 2026, presented by Pro Carton and the European Carton Makers Association in Rome on 17 September. The company was recognised for a child-resistant mono-material pack, a postal-optimised skincare pack and a tequila gift pack, taking its cumulative Pro Carton award tally to 16.
Why this mattersThe wins show cartonboard displacing multi-material and plastic formats in child-safety and e-commerce packs as regulators tighten material rules.
- Awards presented in Rome on 17 September 2026 at the 30th European Carton Excellence Awards.
- Innovation Award went to KidGuard, a single-piece cartonboard child-resistant pack made from Billerud's CrownBoard Kraft, developed with Proquimia.
- Sustainability Award went to a postal-ready pack for UK skincare brand Skin + Me, made from Stora Enso's Ensocoat 2S, fitting a 25mm postal-format limit.
- Beverage Award went to the Tequila Buen Amigo Duo Pack for Zamora Company, made from Metsä Board's FBB Bright folding board.
- KidGuard's child-resistant mechanism was tested on children aged 12 to 35 months by product safety institute AIJU.
- The three wins bring Alzamora Group's total Pro Carton award count to 16.
A Sephora cosmetics advent calendar made from cartonboard produced at Metsä Board's Äänekoski mill in Finland has won Carton of the Year at the European Carton Excellence Award 2026 in Rome on 17 September. It is the second consecutive year a pack made from Äänekoski board has taken the top prize, following a 2024 Lumene calendar that won in 2025.
Why this mattersRepeated design-award recognition for a specific board grade reinforces demand from premium cosmetics brands and supports order intake at the mill.
- A Sephora After Christmas Calendar 2025 box made from Metsä Board's Äänekoski cartonboard won Carton of the Year at the European Carton Excellence Award 2026 in Rome on 17 September 2026.
- The pack used MetsäBoard Pro FBB Bright virgin-fibre board in 290 g/m2 and 350 g/m2 weights.
- Belgian converter Autajon Packaging designed and manufactured the pack.
- It is the second consecutive year Äänekoski-produced board has won the award, after a 2024 Lumene calendar won in 2025.
- The award is organised annually by Pro Carton and the European Carton Makers Association (ECMA).
- Äänekoski mill director Timo Tallinen said the recognition feeds directly into the mill's order book.
Stora Enso has completed negotiations to permanently close its Veitsiluoto sawmill in Kemi, Finland, ending temporary curtailment in place since early August 2026. Sawmill production for the Northern Finland region will be centralised at the company's other sawmills in Oulu, Oulainen and Kalajoki, with about 60 job losses. Stora Enso cited weak profitability driven by high log costs; after the change, roughly 840 people will remain at Business Unit Oulu's sawmills, board mill and port operations.
Why this mattersThe closure tightens Stora Enso's Northern Finland wood-processing footprint but is described as having only a minor impact on wood supply to its Oulu board mill.
- Veitsiluoto sawmill in Kemi, Finland, permanently closed following negotiations concluded 16 September 2026
- Approximately 60 people made redundant
- Production had been temporarily curtailed since early August 2026
- Closure first announced 12 August 2026 as a plan to centralise Northern Finland sawmill production
- After the change, Business Unit Oulu will employ approximately 840 people across board mill, sawmills in Oulu, Oulainen and Kalajoki, and port operations
- Reason cited is need to improve efficiency, profitability and competitiveness amid high log costs
- Stora Enso acquired Junnikkala Oy, builder of the Oulu sawmill absorbing Veitsiluoto's production, in 2024; Junnikkala also operates sawmills in Kalajoki and Oulainen.
Metsä Group has secured EUR 21m in Finnish public funding for a planned wood-based carbon dioxide capture plant at Metsä Fibre's Rauma pulp mill. The facility would capture around 100,000 tonnes of biogenic CO2 a year from the mill's recovery boiler for use as a raw material in e-fuels. A final investment decision is not expected before early 2027, subject to permitting, engineering and market demand.
Why this mattersState-backed carbon capture at a pulp mill could open a new revenue stream from biogenic CO2 and set a template for decarbonising the forest industry's flue gas emissions.
- Metsä Group awarded EUR 21m via a reverse auction run by Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
- Planned plant at Metsä Fibre's Rauma pulp mill would capture about 100,000 tonnes of wood-based CO2 per year
- Aid is paid only if the investment proceeds, with final investment decision not expected before early 2027
- Pilot testing was carried out at Rauma in 2025 with technology supplier Andritz; pre-engineering began in 2026
- Captured CO2 is intended for use as a raw material in e-fuel production, potentially avoiding emissions equivalent to nearly 30,000 passenger cars annually
- Project remains conditional on environmental permit, completed engineering and sufficient market demand
Finland's forest management associations opened the Pino digital marketplace for mandate-based timber sales on 15 September, and neither Metsä Group nor Stora Enso intends to use it. Metsä Group has confirmed it will not register, arguing an independent marketplace must stop price and bid information from advantaging one participant; Stora Enso says it will keep bidding in power-of-attorney sales but has raised information technology questions. The associations arrange 15m-20m cubic metres of such sales a year, so bids risk being split across Pino, the rival Kuutio platform, buyers' own systems and email.
Why this mattersA fragmented timber-tendering landscape raises procurement costs and reduces price transparency for two of Europe's largest fibre producers.
- Pino, built by MHYP with farmers' organisation MTK, opened on 15 September 2026
- Finnish forest management associations arrange 15m-20m cubic metres of mandate-based timber sales a year
- Metsä Group has publicly confirmed it will not register for Pino, citing concerns over access to commercially sensitive bid data
- Stora Enso will keep participating in power-of-attorney sales but has raised information technology questions over Pino
- UPM had not reached a final decision and said it would continue using the rival Kuutio platform
- Metsä Group is a shareholder in Kuutio and says mandate-based deals can also be handled through Kuutio or by email
Metsä Group has ordered a 3D Fiber molded fibre production line from Valmet for its Äänekoski mill in Finland, the first commercial-scale deployment of the technology. The line, sited alongside the companies' existing demo plant, will have nominal capacity of more than 100 million products a year and is scheduled to start up in 2028. Valmet has not disclosed the order value; it is included in the company's third-quarter 2026 orders received.
Why this mattersA proven commercial-scale route from pulp to rigid molded-fibre trays and containers gives converters a credible, scalable plastic substitute for food packaging.
- Metsä Group ordered a 3D Fiber production line from Valmet for its Äänekoski mill, Finland
- This is the world's first commercial-scale implementation of Valmet's 3D Fiber technology
- Nominal capacity of the new line exceeds 100 million products per year
- Start-up of the line is scheduled for 2028
- The line will be built alongside the existing Valmet-Metsä demo plant, which started up in 2022
- The order is included in Valmet's orders received for the third quarter of 2026; order value undisclosed
Metsä Board is modernising the board machine winder in the finishing operations at its Kemi mill, with work carried out during the annual maintenance shutdown in October-November 2026. The company says the upgrade will improve product quality, supply chain reliability and production efficiency at the mill, the world's largest producer of coated white-top kraftliners.
Why this mattersReliability upgrades at the largest white-top kraftliner mill reinforce supply continuity for corrugated box makers dependent on Kemi's output.
- Metsä Board is modernising the board machine winder at its Kemi mill finishing operations
- Investment will be implemented during the annual maintenance shutdown in October-November 2026
- Kemi mill has annual production capacity of approximately 465,000 tonnes
- Kemi is described as the world's largest producer of coated white-top kraftliners
- Kraftliner from Kemi is used as the top layer in corrugated packaging worldwide
Metsä Group President and CEO Jussi Vanhanen has warned that poor implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation could weaken Finland's public finances by EUR 500 million to EUR 1.5 billion annually. He cited government estimates of EUR 400-900 million in direct restoration and protection costs, plus EUR 150-500 million in lost tax revenue if forest use is curtailed. Finland is preparing its national restoration plan for submission to the European Commission.
Why this mattersRestrictions on Finnish boreal forest harvesting could tighten wood fibre supply and raise costs for Nordic pulp, paperboard and forestry-linked packaging producers.
- Vanhanen estimates poor implementation could cost Finland EUR 500m-1.5bn annually
- Government estimates put direct restoration and protection costs at EUR 400m-900m a year
- Welfare losses and lower tax revenue estimated at EUR 150m-500m if forest use is cut
- Finland's forest sector generates about EUR 10bn in economic benefit and EUR 3-4bn in direct tax annually
- Comments made on Yle's Ykkösaamu programme
- Finland is preparing a national restoration plan for the European Commission
Finnish company Innomost has developed Suberinno Suberin, a barrier material derived from birch bark suberin, aimed at replacing fossil-based coatings in fibre-based packaging. The material targets moisture, grease and oxygen barrier properties for food and non-food paper and board packs. Innomost currently produces the material at its Kokkola, Finland facility and plans to build an industrial-scale plant within two to three years.
Why this mattersA commercially scalable bio-based multi-barrier coating could let paper and board packaging displace plastic laminates while meeting PPWR recyclability requirements.
- Innomost sources birch bark from an existing side stream of the Nordic forest industry.
- The product is marketed as Suberinno Suberin.
- It can provide moisture, grease and oxygen barrier properties in a single material.
- Production currently takes place at Innomost's facility in Kokkola, Finland.
- Innomost plans to build an industrial plant and scale production within two to three years.
- University of Oulu is separately developing suberin coatings with UPM and Metsä Board.
