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A GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN DEFIBERING, PAGE 24ECHO TECHA PROMISE IS A DELICATE THING, PAGE 6
E C H O
“Know your customer.”
CATHARINA STACKELBERG
METSÄ FIBRE CUSTOMER MAGAZINE
ISSUE
2 12
ECHOES FROMTHE WORLD
THEME · BOTNIA
H E A R H E A RP A G E 2
AN INNOVATIVE NEW
PROCESS THAT SAVES
COSTS AND ENERGY.
HEAR HEAR
P A G E 3H E A R H E A R
14 & 24In summer 2013, Joutseno mill
(pictured) will introduce an
innovative new digestion process.
In a nutshell, it works by oxidising
some of the sulphide sulphur into
polysulphide, preventing hemicellu-
lose from dissolving in the digester
along with the lignin. This gives
pulp with improved technical prop-
erties, leading to cost and energy
savings for paper manufacturers.
POLYSULPHIDE DIGESTION: A brighter future for pulp
READ MORE ABOUT IT ON PAGES 14 –15 AND 24 –27, AND FIND OUT WHY POLYSULPHIDE DIGESTION IS THE PROCESS OF THE FUTURE!
P A G E 4
To ensure high product quality, all aspects of pro-
duction must be first class. It’s a question of com-
pany culture: for Metsä Fibre, this culture is the
product of customer-oriented procedures, strong
employee know-how, a productive partner net-
work, high levels of safety and the minimising of
any environmental impacts.
These, among other things, are our customer
promise. As Ari Harmaala points out in this issue,
our customers and their needs are at the very cen-
tre of our work. Every one working at Metsä Fibre
sees this as the core of our business – in the end it
is always about customer benefits.
We develop the quality of our products through
in-depth, confidential cooperation with our cus-
tomers. We’re able to rapidly convey our custom-
ers’ wishes to our production organisation using
our customer responsibility chain. We’ve also col-
laborated with customers on several highly pro-
ductive joint projects. It’s only by working in this
way that we’ve been able to develop our products
to meet – and increasingly exceed – our custom-
ers’ requirements.
To improve the quality management of our pulp,
we’ve developed a continuous quality index to
measure the homogeneity of the product’s qual-
ity and are commissioning this index on each fac-
tory. We’re confident that this will provide more
and more exact and real-time information about
the quality of our pulp.
The desire to continuously improve is char-
acteristic of our operation. This passion can be
seen in our development work with new prod-
uct, polysulphide as well as in Joutseno’s new gas-
ification plant. In the summer of 2013, the world’s
largest single-line softwood pulp mill will begin
using the polysulphide digestion method. Metsä
Fibre’s new product will save energy and improve
the pulp’s paper-making properties. Modern pulp
mills are major producers of renewable bioenergy.
We think that this is the way of the future and we
are looking forward to take the first steps.
The principle of continuous improvement is
based on our values: cooperation, reliability, inno-
vation and responsible profitability. We want to be
a measurably better partner for all our customers
in all aspects of our operation.
ISMO NOUSIAINEN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT PRODUCTION
A CULTUREOF CONTINUOUSIMPROVEMENT
“THE DESIRE TO
CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE
IS CHARACTERISTIC
OF OUR OPERATION.”
P A G E 5
MY VOICE
16
HEAR HEARA BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR PULP
EDITORIAL A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
CONTENTS
ECHOES FROM THE WORLD PROMISES – EASY TO MAKE, HARD TO KEEP
TALKING ECHO JUST ADD POLYSULPHIDE
MY VOICE POLYSULPHIDE PULP AT KIRKNIEMI PAPER MILL
GREEN SOUNDS GREEN ENERGY GOALS
COLUMNTOWARDS LIFE AS ONE PLANET
ECHO TECH A GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN DEBFIBERING
MARKET REVIEWA NEW PATH TO DEVELOPMENT
ECHO MONITOR
ECHO MARKCMC – A REMARKABLE COMPOUND
2
4
5
6
14
16
20
23
24
28
32
34
[contents]
METSÄ FIBRE ECHO. ISSUE 2/2012. METSÄ FIBRE, P.O.BOX 30, FI-02020 METSÄ, FINLAND. WWW.METSAFIBRE.COM
Publisher: Metsä Fibre, Sales and Marketing. Editor-in-Chief: Saija Tuomikoski. Editorial Board: Ari Harmaala, Mikael Lagerblom, Ursula Lumme, Tom Nickull and Saija Tuomikoski.
Production: Otavamedia Customer Communication. Team: Maija Kajanto, Jaana Pakkala, Katri Sulin and Riina Walli.
English language editing: TenFour Communications. Translations: AAC Global Oy.Printed by: Erweko Oy.
Metsä Fibre Echo is published in English, Finnish, German and Chinese. All magazines are available at www.metsafibre.com
ECHO TECH
24
ECHO MARK
34
ECHOES FROM THE WORLD
62
12
Cover: Carta Integra 170 g. Paper: Galerie Art Silk 130 g.ISSN 1795–1089 (printed edition) ISSN 1795–1097 (online edition)
Ari Harmaala has been in
charge of Metsä Fibres’ Sales
and Marketing processes for
about a year. Prior to that he
spent 20 years in Asia selling
papermaking machines at
Metso, a leading mechanical
engineering company.
ARI HARMAALA
ECHOES FROM THE WORLD
E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L DP A G E 6
P A G E 7E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L D
P R O M I S E – A D E L I C AT E T H I N G
Promises are easy to make but hard to
keep. A promise should never be made
too lightly, no matter if you are promising
to return a phone call or deliver on time
to a multibillion euro customer.
TEXT / LENA BARNER-RASMUSSEN, PHOTOS / TOMMI TUOMI & SHUTTERSTOCK
To make a customer promise that matters, you
need to know where you currently stand.
“Our customers buy fibre on a monthly
basis, so consistency in quality is very impor-
tant. Competent people and swift processes are also
a part of the quality,” explains Ari Harmaala, Senior
Vice President, Metsä Fibre Sales and Marketing.
Metsä Fibre’s customer promise rests on five cor-
nerstones: high quality, sustainability, logistic agil-
ity, technical knowhow and cost competitiveness.
Technical know-how and cost competitiveness go
hand in hand, as it is possible to substantially improve
cost efficiency by doing things right. Metsä Fibre
shares its fibre expertise with its customers.
“We advise our customers how to get the most
out of the fibre. For instance, by refining the fibres
you can make substantial savings,” says Harmaala.
Logistic agility – making sure that the fibre arrives
at the right place at the right time – is also important.
Nobody wants a huge pile of fibre in stock. Metsä
Fibre is the first company in the industry to use RFID
identification tags on their products, although the full
benefits will be realized once everybody in the indus-
try, including ports and logistic firms, join in using it.
Finally there is sustainability. Customers increas-
ingly want to make sure that they are buying fibre
from one of the good guys. This means certifications
and compliance with environmental regulations.
And, as Harmaala points out, work safety.
“This is one point that tends to get in the shadow.
We make a point of tracking the frequency of acci-
dents, we want to be the industry benchmark when
it comes to work safety.”
This all adds up to Metsä Fibre’s customer prom-
ise: Fibres of Success. At the very centre of it all is the
customer and his or her needs.
When Harmaala joined the company about a year
ago he was tasked with rebuilding the customer man-
agement at Metsä Fibre. At the same time, the company
name was changed from Metsä Botnia to Metsä Fibre.
CATHARINA STACKELBERG Catharina Stackelberg is the
founder and CEO of the marketing
consultancy Marketing Clinic.
She helps her clients articulate
customer promises and build
sustainable commercial success.
ECHOES FROM THE WORLD
E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L DP A G E 8
As Harmaala sank his teeth into improving Metsä
Fibre’s customer management, he also wanted every
member of staff to start thinking in a more customer-
oriented way.
“Interactions with the customer is not just something
for the sales people. Even the operator at the pulp mill
should know where a particular bale is going. I wanted
to transform the customers into real people for every-
body. I think that enhances motivation for everybody
because in the end, you are interested in people more
than in products,” says Harmaala.
A promise that mattersFor making a customer promise that matters, you truly
need to know to whom you are making that promise.
“Customer needs is the starting point. When making
a customer promise you see all too often that people
tend to take their products as the starting point when
it really is all about the customer. Start by asking your-
self what is the user experience rather than what do we
want to manufacture,” advises Catharina Stackelberg
from Marketing Clinic.
Just as with any promise in life that you intend to
keep, a customer promise should never be made lightly.
For a company the size of Metsä Fibre, the process of
articulating a promise is a complex one. You need to
know what you are promising and make sure you’ve
got what it takes to deliver.
If the promise is articulated too narrowly it will lack
important attributes; too broadly, and it will be difficult
to handle. In other words, it needs to be right on target.
“It needs to be very clearly articulated and in the
end it is about the benefits for the customers,” says
Ari Harmaala.
According to Catharina Stackelberg, there are three
main factors in a winning customer promise: hygiene
factors, rational benefits and emotional benefits. The
so-called hygiene factors are sort of ‘must haves’ in order
to be credible. They are the prerequisites for compet-
ing in a certain business.
“A bank needs to be reliable no matter what, for
instance,” she says.
Rational benefits already deliver clear advantages for
customers and separate you from the pack in a posi-
tive way. Emotional benefits are significant points of
leverage with target customers and can propel a brand
towards category leadership.
“The bottom line is that it is all about how you want
your customers to think and feel when they are doing
P A G E 9E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L D
“START BY ASKING
YOURSELF ABOUT THE
USER EXPERIENCE
RATHER THAN ABOUT
WHAT YOU WANT TO
MANUFACTURE.”
ECHOES FROM THE WORLD
E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L DP A G E 1 0
business with you. A customer promise consistently
gives answer to the customers’ question: What’s in it
for me,” says Stackelberg.
There is a tendency to sell products in an aggressive
way and think less about what customers really need.
Especially in business-to-business marketing, there
has to be true added value involved, and what is added
value for one customer is not necessarily the same as
for another. The key is to really know the party on the
other side of the negotiation table.
“You need to know which segment the customer
belongs to and speak his business language. You have to
know what the goals your customer is striving towards,
and align your promise with those goals,” says Harmaala,
as Stackelberg nods in agreement.
Customers’ needs change over time and this might
require transferring them to a different segment. That’s
why a continuous dialogue is needed to make sure that
your promise is up to date.
“There are certain routines for making sure that we
meet regularly with important customers,” says Harmaala.
Stackelberg points out that the information gath-
ered from these encounters is not the sole property of
sales people.
“All too often the sales people have all the informa-
tion, and when they leave, the customers may leave with
them. Companies need more pulling together on this
point – the customer should have a relationship with
the whole company and not just with the sales force.”
At Metsä Fibre the sales people are the main point of
contact for customers, but they belong to sales teams
involving people from different parts of the company.
“This way, we make sure that the information reaches
everyone. But in the end you have to accept that people
do business with each other, not companies.”
Part of the coreA customer promise is just empty words unless all
employees back up the promise with their actions.
“Today we talk a lot of about the customer experience.
You should think through all the interaction points you
have with your customers and figure out which are the
most important. That way you’ll be able to figure out
which encounters matter the most and you can make
sure that these touch points are resonating with your
customer promise,” says Stackelberg.
Everybody in the company is a conveyor of trust, ulti-
mately playing a role in keeping the customer promise.
You should think through all the interaction points you have with your customers and figure out which are the most important, says Catharina Stackelberg.
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY AND BRAND, CATHARINA STACKELBERG?
There needs to be a common destination and
mission. Everybody in the organisation needs to
know the company’s five-year plan. You also need
to be able to lead the customer experience so as
to secure the five-year perspective. How will the
agreed business destination be implemented in
every customer interaction from now on?
Another success driver is being meaningfully
different. What makes our organisation stand out
in a meaningful way?
You need the guts to make choices and really
make the necessary investments to back up
your strategy. A common mistake is a tendency
towards trying to keep things as they are. It
is surprisingly difficult to choose not to do
something, and then you risk doing a little of
everything, which is seldom a winning strategy.
A brand is not a brand unless the customers
have a clear picture of what the brand stands
for. Strictly speaking it is not the company
that decides if their brand is a brand, it is the
customers. A brand should immediately bring
the right attributes to the mind of the target
group, like Volvo meaning safety and Apple
products being fun and easy to use.
4
P A G E 1 1E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L D
A CUSTOMER PROMISE
IS JUST EMPTY WORDS
UNLESS ALL EMPLOYEES
BACK IT UP WITH
THEIR ACTIONS.
1
2
3
ECHOES FROM THE WORLD
E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L DP A G E 1 2
“It starts from the staff in the reception,” says Harmaala.
Stackelberg agrees.
“Everything communicates.”
For this to work smoothly, it is important that the
customer promise was not simply plucked out of the air.
“The customer promise must resonate with the com-
pany DNA to be successfully embraced throughout the
organisation,” says Stackelberg.
Harmaala agrees.
“The customer promise must resonate with the com-
pany’s values, mission and vision. The soul of the prom-
ise lies in the company values.”
So before presenting the promise to customers,
employees must take it fully to heart.
“Our employees are the ones who take this promise
forward. If they haven’t fully internalised the promise
then it will remain an empty one. It is important that
the whole staff is backing the promise, as it is only as
strong as the weakest link,” says Harmaala.
But what if you break your customer promise. Can
it be fixed?
“If you fail on one of your hygiene factors, like a bank
failing on credibility, it’s hard to fix,” says Stackelberg.
Failing on the emotional factors is not as fatal, but
bad enough.
“Regaining customers confidence is a long process,”
says Harmaala.
Regular dialogueHow do you know that you’ve truly delivered on your
promise? Catharina Stackelberg recommends regular
customer surveys, if not monthly then at least once per
quarter – but they won’t tell you everything.
“As the surveys are undeniably quite technical, you
need a regular dialogue with the customer as well.”
Ultimately, you’ll see on that famous bottom line of
the corporate balance sheet whether you’ve kept your
promise or not.
“The actions are reflected in the figures. Sustaina-
ble profit says it all. You won’t prevail in a business like
this for decade after decade unless you deliver what you
promise,” says Harmaala.
Everybody in the company plays a role in keeping the customer promise, agree Stackelberg and Harmaala.
P A G E 1 3E C H O E S F R O M T H E W O R L D
METSÄ FIBRE’S
CUSTOMER PROMISE:
FIBRES OF SUCCESS
“AT THE VERY CENTRE
IS THE CUSTOMER AND
HIS OR HER NEEDS.”
QUALITY FIBRES
LOGISTIC AGILITY
SUSTAIN- ABILITY
COST COMPETITIVE
TECHNICAL KNOWHOW
Botnia
…is optimised to enable the
use of new additives. The
POLYSULPHIDE DIGESTION
METHOD will be introduced at
the world’s largest softwood pulp
production line in Joutseno in
the summer of 2013. The method
will see wood raw material used
more efficiently in Metsä Fibre’s
new softwood pulp product. The
high HEMICELLULOSE content
will strengthen fibre structure
and play an important role in
paper production. This new type
of fibre will require less refining.
Some of the SULPHIDE
SULPHUR (S 2-) in the
pulping liquor is changed
into POLYSULPHIDE , i.e.
elemental sulphur. This
makes it possible to prevent
the HEMICELLULOSE
from dissolving along
with the lignin.
TEXT / PETJA PARTANEN, PHOTO / SHUTTERSTOCK
ELEMENTAL TRANSFORMATION
THE PULP DIGESTING PROCESS…
TALKING ECHO
T A L K I N G E C H O P A G E 1 4
JUST ADD POLYSULPHIDEMetsä Fibre’s new polysulphide
method will save energy and
improve paper machine runnability.
TO
P A G E 1 5T A L K I N G E C H O
SOFTWOOD PULP provides paper
with strength. The improved tensile
strength and tensile stiffness of
the pulp is exploitable either by
improving end-product strength or
reducing the amount of expensive
softwood pulp in the paper.
TENSILE STRENGTH, TENSILE STIFFNESS AND MODULUS OF ELASTICITY
+5 10%THE INVERSE VALUE OF
DENSITY shows the paper
material’s specific volume.
The bulk of the pulp
remains unchanged.
BULK
+/-0%
THE POLYSULPHIDE
digestion process will not
change the SOFTWOOD
PULP’S basic properties.
FIBRE LENGTH AND BRIGHTNESS
+/-0%
Shows how well board
layers, or the paper and
its coating, are attached
to one another. This is
an important property
in coated paper and
board grades.
INTERNAL BOND STRENGTH
+5 10%
The new PULP FIBRE will
require less refining before
being transferred to the paper
machine, with the total energy
consumption of refining no
more than 100 kWh per metric
tonne of pulp. Each kWh saved
equals monetary savings.
REFINING ENERGY CONSUMPTION
-10 20%The changes in cellulose
properties are conservative
estimates based on laboratory
tests. Savings in refining energy
will depend on the refining
process used in papermaking.
NOTE!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
THE POLYSULPHIDE METHOD, SEE PAGE 24
TO
TO
MY VOICE
M Y V O I C EP A G E 1 6
POLYSULPHIDE PULP
MANUFACTURINGbrings bustle TO PAPER
Sappi’s Kirkniemi paper mill and Metsä
Fibre are like family members. They trade
pulp, exchange technical support and co-
operate on some amazing development
projects – the latest being Kirkniemi’s
introduction of polysulphide pulp.
2 000 TONNES OF MAGAZINE
AND CATALOGUE PAPER
EVERY DAY.
190 TONNES, THE HEAVIEST WHALE EVER RECORDED.
P A G E 1 7M Y V O I C E
TEXT / KATJA ALAJA , PHOTOS / KATRI LEHTOLA
PAPER PRODUCTION
PER DAY AT SAPPI.
5 500 KM 5 587 KM
DISTANCE FROM
LONDON TO NEW YORK
Kirkniemi’s machines produce 2 000 tonnes of paper a day.
Apile of one-thousand-kilo softwood pulp bales
sits waiting to be dispatched. Within 24 hours
they will be winding their way through paper
machines and a new set of bales will be wait-
ing their turn. Pulp produced by Metsä Fibre is con-
tinuously flowing to Sappi’s paper mill in Kirkniemi,
Lohja, Finland. The paper machines of the South Afri-
can-owned mill produce 2 000 tonnes of magazine and
catalogue paper every day. “If it was placed in one long
line, it would be approximately seven metres wide and
5 500 kilometres long – enough paper to stretch all
the way to north Africa,” says Martti Savelainen, Plant
Manager at Sappi.
The paper produced in Kirkniemi is used in well-
known magazines and catalogues around the world.
“Our paper is used in Newsweek, National Geographic,
Air France’s customer magazine, Elle, Vogue, the Finn-
ish wine magazine Viini and many others,” explains
Savelainen.
As much as 94 per cent of Sappi’s production is
exported, with most going to Germany, England, Poland,
Australia, Russia and the United States. The Galerie
MY VOICE
M Y V O I C EP A G E 1 8
paper family consists of Lite, Brite, Fine and Fine Silk.
But why are Sappi’s products so popular with customers?
“That’s a good question,” says Savelainen, thinking for a
moment. “Uniform quality and reliable delivery are the
factors we’ve focused on. We have very few problems
because we keep the machines in good working order.”
Metsä Fibre supplies Sappi with softwood pulp and
helps to improve their paper production efficiency. This
relationship means Metsä Fibre plays its own role in Sap-
pi’s delivery reliability.
“We need the pulp quality to be as even as possible, with
the different seasons not visible in the quality,” points out
Savelainen. “Metsä Fibre is a reliable partner in this regard,
and they always deliver the pulp on time.”
Like one big familyIn a light-coloured hall built in the 1990s, Galerie Queen,
Kirkniemi’s third paper machine, is rumbling away. It is
half a kilometre long and approximately 120 metres wide.
The plant manager visits the hall as often as possible,
waving to the employees in the control room. Savelainen
may also run into Metsä Fibre’s technical customer serv-
ice representative, who visits at least once a month to help
fine-tune the paper production process.
“The expert from Metsä Fibre talks with engineers and
supervisors, as well as production and other personnel,”
says Savelainen. “She finds out how much pulp has been
used and how it has behaved on the test line, inspecting
laboratory values and giving expert advice.”
Tom Nickull, Key Account Manager for Sappi at Metsä
Fibre, also visits the mill regularly, with meetings arranged
at least a couple of times a year.
Metsä Fibre’s Joutseno softwood pulp
mill will start cooking polysulphide
next summer. Martti Savelainen, Plant
Manager at Sappi’s Kirkniemi paper
mill, is excited about the prospect:
polysulphide pulp will, in the future,
be used as much as possible in their
paper manufacturing.
“The basic idea is that polysulphide
will allow us to reduce the amount of
pulp needed for paper manufacturing,”
says Savelainen. “We can save hundreds
of thousands, if not millions, of euros
every year. That is our carrot.”
MORE PAPER, LOWER COSTS
P A G E 1 9M Y V O I C E
“Polysulphide could save usmillions of euros every year.”
“I highly appreciate Metsä Fibre’s local mill know-how
and technical expertise,” says Savelainen. “The people at the
company know the paper manufacturing process and equip-
ment, and how they work together with the pulp. They give
great advice and help us to refine and use the pulp correctly.”
Efficient, sustainable productionMatti Savelainen tears a piece of paper from a paper reel
heading for the hall.
“I would say that is 70 gram. Let’s see,” he says, and looks
at the label. The former production engineer laughs. “I
guess I lost my touch – it’s 65 gram!”
In the background, a winder produces paper for three
different customers. This high-quality paper has been pro-
duced as cost efficiently as possible.
“We have cooperated closely for some ten years now,”
explains Savelainen. “Metsä Fibre’s organisation under-
stands our vision well – that Kirkniemi produces results
safely, while taking customer needs into account. We try
to conserve our expensive raw material, and there is no
conflict between us here.”
This attitude is visible in everything they do, including
the latest development. Next summer, Sappi – a major
customer of Metsä Fibre’s Joutseno mill – will start using
new polysulphide pulp in paper production on two paper
machines. The objective is clear: more high-quality paper
produced at even lower costs.
The new polysulphide pulp contains
more hemicellulose, which improves
the technical properties of paper,
such as tensile stiffness and refinability.
Less refining means lower energy
consumption and lower raw material
costs, with the customer still receiving
a product with a similar or higher
tensile stiffness as before.
Polysulphide pulp is a unique product
in Europe, with a similar pulp currently
only available in North America.
“New innovations are needed, because
saving is the theme of the day,” points
out Savelainen. “Paper consumption is
decreasing in Europe.”
Savelainen explains that Sappi and
Metsä Fibre began cooperating in
autumn 2012 to ensure that the shift to
polysulphide pulp goes smoothly. One
necessary change is to lower the energy
consumption of refining.
“Together we are planning how to
start using the new pulp and ensuring
our equipment is aligned correctly,”
summarises Savelainen.
SAVING IS THE THEME OF THE DAY
Martti Savelainen,
Plant Manager at Kirkniemi.
The supercalender consists of alternating steel and fiber-covered rolls through which paper is passed to increase its density, smoothness and gloss.
G R E E N S O U N D SP A G E 2 0
GOING BIOMetsä Fibre is finding new ways to effectively
utilise renewable biomass – generating
green bioenergy for both the company’s
own production processes and for wider use.
BIO GAS
WOOD
odern pulp mills are major producers of
renewable bioenergy. About half of the bio-
mass in the wood brought into mills is dissolved
during the pulp-making process. The resulting black
liquor can be burnt to generate energy for the mill
and to sell as surplus bioenergy. Bark and other
tree parts that are unsuitable for pulping can also
be used to produce bioenergy.
“At Metsä Fibre we have an overall energy self-
sufficiency level in terms of electricity of about 150
per cent, which means we are a major supplier of
green energy to Finland’s national grid,” explains
Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, Senior Vice President, Busi-
ness Development.
A new landmark in Metsä Fibre’s increasing use
of bioenergy was reached during 2012 with the
completion of a 48-megawatt gasification plant at
Joutseno mill. Bark stripped from the mill’s incom-
ing wood is first dried using surplus heat from the
pulp-making process, and then converted into
biogas for firing the pulp mill’s lime kiln.
“After final adjustments the gasification plant is
ready to roll,” says Pehu-Lehtonen. “Joutseno’s lime
kiln can now be heated using biogas produced on
site, instead of natural gas. This shift is a signifi-
cant part of our wider efforts to replace fossil fuels.”
The new facility will further improve the overall
energy efficiency of the mill, and reduce Joutseno’s
carbon dioxide emissions by about 60,000 tonnes a
year. “It also means that during normal operations
Joutseno will be completely carbon neutral,” adds
Pehu-Lehtonen.
Like Metsä Fibre’s other mills, Joutseno is already
more than self-sufficient in terms of net electricity
generation and consumption. The mill produces
enough surplus electricity to meet the needs of
50,000 homes.
Wider potential for biogas Metsä Fibre is already considering how a similar
facility could be set up at Kemi mill, where the lime
kiln is currently oil-fired. “We’re currently study-
ENERGY SELF
SUFFICIENCYLEVEL 150%
TEXT / FRAN WEAVER , PHOTOS / METSÄ GROUP & SHUTTERSTOCK
M
GREEN SOUNDS
P A G E 2 1G R E E N S O U N D S
BARK
MILL
“Joutseno's new gasification plant is ready to roll.”
ing various technical options for Kemi, after
learning a lot from our achievements at Jout-
seno,” says Pehu-Lehtonen.
Back at Joutseno, Metsä Fibre is also assess-
ing prospects for a larger, 200-megawatt biore-
finery that would convert bark and forest chips
into synthetic biogas. With a methane con-
tent of 95 per cent, this biogas would closely
resemble the natural gas currently imported
from Russia through a network of pipelines
across southern Finland.
Pehu-Lehtonen explains that wood-based
biogas could be fed into this network from
Joutseno mill in collaboration with Finnish
energy company Gasum. “We’ve completed
the conceptual study showing that such a biore-
finery could be technically integrated into the
mill. The next phase will involve further fea-
sibility studies with our partners,” she says.
Renewable biomassAnother partner in this scheme is the Helsinki-
based power company Helsingin Energia, which
is looking to reduce its carbon dioxide emis-
sions by using more renewable energy. Biogas
produced from wood could be piped to Hel-
sinki through existing pipelines to heat water
for the city’s district heating network in exist-
ing gas-fired power plants, reducing the need
for new investments. Another advantage is that
the scheme would not require the transporta-
tion and storage of bulky biomass in urban areas.
“We’re always keen to learn how to make
the most of the renewable biomass available
through our mills’ supply chains,” says Pehu-
Lehtonen. “This makes the idea of synthesis-
ing methane from wood biomass at Joutseno
mill and piping it to Helsinki a very interest-
ing concept.”
48-MEGAWATT GASIFICATION
PLANT AT JOUTSENO
MILL
READ MORE
METSAFIBRE.COM/SUSTAINABILITY
G R E E N S O U N D SP A G E 2 2
“A strong focus on biomass is logical for a forest industry company.”
etsä Fibre’s increasing use of wood-based
bioenergy is part of a wider effort to utilise
renewable energy sources throughout Metsä Group.
“A strong focus on biomass is logical for a for-
est industry company. Biomass accounts for about
80 per cent of our total fuel use today – this is
already a very high figure, and we’re striving to
exploit all economically viable opportunities to
increase it,” explains Ilkka Latvala, Senior Vice
President, Energy, Metsä Group.
“Our group-wide target is that by 2020 our car-
bon dioxide emissions will be 30 per cent lower per
product tonne than in the benchmark year 2009,”
says Latvala. “We aim to achieve this by further
replacing fossil fuels with bioenergy and by enhanc-
ing the overall energy efficiency of our production
processes by 10 per cent over the same period. This
will be achieved through operational and techni-
cal improvements.”
Progress towards these targets is tracked across
the group. Metsä Group is increasingly providing
customers with carbon footprint calculations for
specific products. Such efforts are welcomed by
customers keen to monitor the sustainability of
their suppliers.
Latvala emphasises that the recent major invest-
ments in bioenergy production made both by Metsä
Fibre and other Metsä Group mills represent signifi-
cant steps towards these targets. “We’re always seek-
ing value-adding partnerships with other energy
users or suppliers to find new ways to reduce costs
and replace fossil fuels through the use of sustaina-
ble bioenergy. For instance, many of our mills also
supply surplus heat for district heating schemes in
local communities.”
BY 2020
30% REDUCTION
across Metsä Group
GREEN ENERGY GOALS
BIOMASS ACCOUNTS
FOR ABOUT 80% OF OUR TOTAL
FUEL USE TODAY
METSÄ GROUP'S
TARGET FOR CO2 EMISSIONS
M
OF 2009 LEVELS
GREEN SOUNDS
COLUMN
E A R T H
LIISA ROHWEDERSECRETARY GENERAL,
WWF FINLAND
HOW CAN WE RESPOND
TO THE CHALLENGE?SEE PAGE 32
“BIODIVERSITY IS
CRUCIAL FOR SUSTAINING
PEOPLE’S WELLBEING
AND LIVELIHOODS.”
PHOTO / MIINA POIKOLAINEN
P A G E 2 3C O L U M N
TOWARDS LIFE AS ONE PLANET
The Living Planet Report published by WWF
this year makes for grim reading: we are living
beyond our means. At present we Finns con-
sume natural resources and energy at three times
the biocapacity of our planet. On a global level,
the human ecological footprint is 1.5 times the
world’s biocapacity. If we carry on like this, by
2030 we will need two planet Earths to meet our
demand. At the same time, our increasing con-
sumption places additional stress on the biodi-
versity of the natural environment, which has
declined by 30 per cent since 1970.
Biodiversity is crucial for sustaining people’s well-
being and livelihoods. Living organisms – plants,
animals and microorganisms – form complex,
interconnected webs of ecosystems and habitats,
which in turn supply a myriad of ecosystem serv-
ices upon which all life depends. Understanding
how biodiversity, ecosystem services and humans
interact is vital to safeguarding the future secu-
rity, health and wellbeing of human societies.
We already have ways to secure a sufficient sup-
ply of food, water, energy and various raw mate-
rials for the estimated population of nine billion
in 2050, while preserving ecosystem services and
stopping the decline of biodiversity. This requires
that we accept this fundamental reality as the
basis for our economy, business models and life-
styles: the natural capital of planet Earth – bio-
diversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services – is
limited. Therefore it is vital that natural resources
are used, maintained, managed and distributed
according to the ecological constraints of our
planet. Alongside safeguarding and renewing
the natural capital, more sustainable alternatives
must be introduced to production and logistics
chains. Reorganising money flows and manag-
ing a fairer distribution of natural resources will
support such processes.
Many of us think that the world can only be
changed on the level of states, organisations,
corporations and institutions. It is my personal
view that the world will change only if a sufficient
number of people take action in support of this
change. It is, in the end, people who make deci-
sions and choices in corporations, and thereby
have an impact on the wellbeing of the entire
planet. Knowledge and expertise take us only
so far. We also need the ability to communi-
cate, cooperate and come up with feasible
solutions. By joining forces, and with a
common will and courage, we can stop
living on resources borrowed from
future generations and bring about
a change towards a way of life that
demands only the capacity of the one
planet Earth we have.
E C H O T E C HP A G E 2 4
ECHO TECH
A G R E AT I M P R O V E M E N T I N D E F I B E R I N G
“THE POLYSULPHIDE
DIGESTION METHOD
IMPROVES THE TENSILE
STRENGTH AND BONDING
PROPERTIES OF THE FIBRES.”
P A G E 2 5E C H O T E C H
order to benefit the environment and
make the most of scarce raw material,
in summer 2013 the Joutseno mill will
take a giant leap forward with the introduction of a
brand new cooking process.
The improved technical properties of the cellulose
will also provide cost savings for paper manufacturers.
“The new production method needs less wood per
tonne of end product,” explains Henrik Söderström,
Vice President, Mill Manager at Joutseno mill.
“The polysulphide digestion method improves the
tensile strength and bonding properties of the fibres
produced, while the process itself requires less refin-
ing energy,” points out Söderström.
“Metsä Fibre’s new pulp product will offer unprece-
dented potential for our customers,” adds Tom Nick-
ull, Key Accounts & Vice President, Technical Cus-
tomer Service at Metsä Fibre.
“This is a huge leap forward!” says an excited Kari
Kovasin, D.Sc. (Tech.), one of the developers of Jout-
seno’s new cooking process.
In his opinion, the polysulphide digestion method
is a technical improvement similar to when the bleach-
ing process was completely changed in the beginning
of 1990s and chlorine chemicals were removed from
the pulp bleaching process.
Significant energy savings The new digestion method will deliver immediate cost
savings for all Joutseno pulp buyers. Before transfer to
the paper machine, pulp must be refined. The refin-
ing process is used to adjust the paper-making pulp
properties as desired.
“The new pulp composition will reduce the need
for refining and therefore the amount of electricity
used,” says Nickull.
As a result of the new cooking process, the pulp
strength properties, such as tensile strength, tensile
stiffness and internal bond strength, will improve by
about 5–10 per cent. Improved strength properties can
be of benefit in many different ways, explains Nickull.
“The improved tensile strength is exploitable either by
improving the end-product tensile strength or replac-
ing the softwood pulp with a cheaper raw material,
while keeping the end-product properties unchanged.”
This new type of softwood pulp may provide tis-
In the summer of 2013, the world’s largest
single-line softwood pulp mill will begin using
the polysulphide digestion method. Metsä
Fibre’s new product will save energy and
improve the pulp’s paper-making properties.TEXT / PETJA PARTANEN, PHOTOS / METSÄ GROUP
E C H O T E C HP A G E 2 6
ECHO TECH
sue manufacturers with a suitable method for improv-
ing the softness of their products. Metsä Fibre aims to
cut down papermaking costs and improve end-product
quality in cooperation with the users of its products.
“It is interesting to try to find added value together
with our customers,” concludes Nickull.
It’s finally time for productionThe polysulphide digestion method is not a new inno-
vation. It has been discussed in scientific documents
since the 1960s, with some mills even having tested the
method. But this is no pilot project for Joutseno, home
to the world’s largest softwood pulp production line.
“Our 15.5 million euro investment in the method cov-
ers all production at the mill. The investment will add
value for our customer and benefit our own production
economies,” states Söderström.
Compared to previous experiments, it was not enough
for Joutseno to just use additives. Instead, the entire
cooking process has been redesigned to make the most
of the polysulphide addition. Söderström is, of course,
cautious about revealing details about the development
work carried out by Kari Kovasin and his colleagues.
The polysulphide production itself is based on proven
technology. Sulphide sulphur will be oxidised to elemen-
tal sulphur in a commercial MOXY process supplied by
Andritz. The equipment construction work began in
the autumn of 2012.
“Our process specialists have excelled at building
a fully functional production process based on this
method,” says Nickull proudly.
Customer process changes needed tooAccording to Nickull, Metsä Fibre will offer a totally
new pulp product in 2013. In order for customers to
make the most of this, they should adjust their produc-
tion process in line with the new raw material proper-
ties and its increased hemicellulose content.
“The common feature for all customer groups is that
the process will need less refining energy – how much less
will depend on the product and process. If the process
isn’t adjusted, customers will find that the pulp quality
is lower due to excessive refining. The paper web will
be too compact and water won’t be removed,” points
out Nickull.
Nickull explains that the company intends to make a
startup plan for the new product together with custom-
ers. After this, he promises to support customers when
they want to make the most of related business benefits.
“When the machine is running with the new stock,
we can think together whether, for example, the pro-
portion of expensive softwood pulp could be reduced,”
he explains.
New quality criteriaThe new type of fibre also requires the use of new
KPIs for quality. Pulp quality has traditionally been
estimated with a combination of two factors: tensile
strength and tearing resistance. The polysulphide diges-
tion process will improve the tensile strength of the pulp
but may deteriorate its tearing resistance.
“The tearing resistance is of great significance in
paper, but it is not the same as the tearing resistance
of pulp,” Nickull points out.
“Our starting point is that paper machine runnabil-
ity will play a greater role, for instance in the produc-
tion of printing paper,” reflects Kovasin.
“We have found that properties such as improved
bonding and tensile strength that can be achieved with
EQUIPMENT CONSTRUCTION
WORK BEGAN IN AUTUMN
2012.
P A G E 2 7E C H O T E C H
MORE FIBRES, BETTER QUALITY
The pulp digesting process is used to
separate fibres by dissolving the lignin
that bonds them together.
The digester reaches temperatures of
170°C, causing a chemical reaction be-
tween the sodium and the sulphur and,
along with the lignin, dissolving some
of the hemicellulose that strengthens
the fibre cell walls. Instead of ending up
in the pulp, this portion ends up in the
soda recovery boiler for burning.
Beginning in summer 2013, some of
the sulphide sulphur from Joutseno’s
digester will be oxidised into elemental
sulphur, which will prevent the hemicel-
lulose from dissolving with the lignin.
This process is known as polysulphide
digestion.
“Thanks to this new chemical cook-
ing process, a larger quantity of hemicel-
lulose will be left in the pulp,” says Kari
Kovasin, one of the developers of the
new process.
This will also change the properties
of the product itself, improving its
paper-making qualities. The increased
hemicellulose content will improve the
tensile strength of the pulp fibres and
facilitate refining.
CAN A PROCESS CHANGE NOT ONLY IMPROVE CELLULOSE YIELD, BUT ALSO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF THE CELLULOSE FIBRE? THE DIGESTER AT JOUTSENO MILL HOLDS THE ANSWER.
polysulphide will be better indicators of paper machine
runnability than tearing resistance,” says Söderström.
A busy summer in 2013The startup of the new polysulphide digestion process
next summer will somewhat increase the uniqueness of
the Joutseno pulp mill, which recently became carbon
dioxide neutral. Wood, an increasingly scarce raw mate-
rial, will be used more efficiently than ever and produc-
tion quality will improve.
“Our goal is to make our company the most desirable
pulp supplier for customers. The new method certainly
supports this idea,” says Söderström with excitement.
Nickull expects next summer to be very busy. In addi-
tion to making trial run plans together with customers,
personnel will soon start to prepare a new pulp manual.
“We want to be present in customer mills when the
trial run begins. Consequently, next summer’s holi-
day plans for technical customer service personnel will
require some special arrangements.”
WOOD, AN INCREASINGLY
SCARCE RAW MATERIAL, WILL
BE USED MORE EFFICIENTLY
THAN EVER AND PRODUCTION
QUALITY WILL IMPROVE.
M A R K E T R E V I E WP A G E 2 8
A NEW PATH TO DEVELOPMENT
China’s ambassador to Finland, Huang
Xing, visiting Metsä Fibre in September.
MARKETREVIEW
P A G E 2 9M A R K E T R E V I E W
C
TEXT / PAT HUMPHREYS, PHOTOS / TEEMU KUUSIMURTO, JERE HIETALA & SHUTTERSTOCK
With China buying more and
more market pulp, the fibre industry
faces two burning questions as it
plans its investments. When will
Chinese demand peak, and where?
His Excellency Huang Xing, China’s
ambassador to Finland, says his
country’s pulp imports will continue
to grow for years to come.
hina bought an estimated 23 per cent of world
market pulp in 2011, up from 15 per cent in
2005. “Our demand for paper and board is certain
to continue rising,” says ambassador Huang Xing.
“Unlike agriculture, where we want to feed our-
selves, we will continue to depend to a certain extent
on fibre imports.”
Planning for future growthThe national forestation programme has been “quite
successful” and is to be accelerated. “We are trying to
achieve forest coverage of 23 per cent by 2020. It is
a big challenge because natural conditions are quite
harsh in many areas.”
Even that will not be enough to keep up with
demand for paper products. “As 1.35 billion people
get richer, the rise in consumption is enormous. Pulp
imports will grow for many more years.”
But the ambassador warns against extrapolating
future Chinese demand from Western figures. “At
68 kg per head, our consumption of paper and board
is already above the world average. It will definitely
grow but it will never reach the peak levels of North
America and some European countries.”
“If Chinese consumption were to rise to 300 kilos
per capita, it would be a disaster for the world and
its forests. We need to find a new path to develop-
ment that is sustainable for the globe.”
Western development has been led by three highs,
Huang Xing says: high wages, high consumption
and high welfare. “Of course our people want these
too, but we need to be guided by three new highs –
high efficiencies in energy, resource utilisation and
transport.”
These new highs are why China is rationalising its
own pulping industry. Since the mid-1990s, thou-
sands of small mills have been closed. The govern-
ment indicated last year that the pace of consolida-
tion would be stepped up.
New capacity, new efficienciesOne effect of rationalisation will be a steady fall in
the amount of non-wood pulp. “But one shouldn’t
conclude that fibre imports will rise correspondingly.
M A R K E T R E V I E WP A G E 3 0
“One of the reasonswhy we have developed so fast
is that we learn from everyone.”
[China ]
MARKETREVIEW
P A G E 3 1M A R K E T R E V I E W
Alongside the closures, China is enlarging its modern
pulping capacity, developing a recycling economy and
curbing growth of paper demand.”
It has a strategy for holding down paper use. “We’re
developing information and communications technol-
ogy. This year Huawei overtook Ericsson as the world’s
largest producer of telecom equipment. Telecommu-
nications will bring efficiency to our economy, to gov-
ernment administration and to office work.”
Although ICT first took off in the West, it would be
a mistake to assume that China’s future economy will
mirror the Western model.
“One of the reasons that we have developed so fast is
that we learn from everyone, and from their failures as
well as their successes. Take transport systems. Sixty per
cent of the world’s high-speed rail network is in China.”
“We’re using rail, and not only to replace road trans-
port. For journeys up to 1 000 km, rail is better than
aviation. Planes are even more wasteful than cars.”
Lessons from ChinaFrom 2001–2005, Huang Xing was Director Gen-
eral of the China Science and Technology Exchange
Center, and it shows. What else can his country teach
Western businesses?
“We have a very fast-moving economy. Europeans
aren’t as efficient and responsive to customers as they
could be. Americans are less rigid. But of course the
Nordic countries are quite pragmatic…”
CHINA AND FIBREIn papermaking, China has come full
circle. The oldest pieces of paper in ex-
istence are hemp wrappings, excavated
from the tomb of Chinese emperor Wu,
who died in 87 BCE.
After papermaking spread to the
West in the 13th century, Europeans
developed industrial production,
transforming a luxury into a commod-
ity. Now China is a papermaking giant
once more.
By 2010, Chinese production of
paper and paperboard had reached 97
million metric tons, 22 per cent more
than the next-ranked country, the
United States. Finland and Sweden are
minnows in this table, producing only
an eighth as much.
Chinese paper consumption has been
rising even faster than production. Its
demand for tissue is particularly strong.
Total paper consumption overtook
North America’s in 2009, although
consumption per capita is only about a
fifth. Paper is one of China’s few indus-
trial sectors that have a trade deficit.
The pulp trade gap is even greater,
because of the speed at which paper
demand has grown and the shortage of
suitable wood in China. About 60 per
cent of the pulp China uses is recycled
fibre, a quarter is virgin wood fibre and
the rest is non-wood pulp. Less than
half of this fibre is produced domesti-
cally.
The outlook for foreign pulp appears
good. Despite China’s own great invest-
ment in pulp mills, the shortage of local
wood is expected to continue to limit
growth of domestic production.
Metsä Fibre’s Ari Harmaala (left) and Ilkka Hämälä (right) warmly welcomed His Excellency Huang Xing to Metsä Fibre’s headquarters in September.
E C H O M O N I T O RP A G E 3 2
ECHO MONITOR
A FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITYfull capacity, Metsä Fibre mills use about
12.5 million cubic metres of wood per year
for pulp production. The wood is purchased and
delivered to our mills by Metsä Group, a cooper-
ative owned by more than 130,000 private Finn-
ish forest owners.
Wood is a renewable raw material and Finn-
ish wood reserves grow continuously. Finnish
forests currently grow at a rate of almost 100
million cubic metres a year, while annual drain,
natural mortality included, is some 70 million
cubic metres. Of this amount, around 55 mil-
lion cubic metres a year are used as raw material
in the industry.
All our actions aim to safeguard the biodiver-
sity of forests and the conservation of rare nat-
ural habitats and endangered species. The most
valuable forest areas and natural sites are pro-
tected from forestry use by various conservation
measures. Our goal is to leave forests to the next
generation in a better condition than they were
when we received them.
All the wood used by Metsä Fibre comes from
sustainably managed forests. Since our main raw
material is supplied by our own group, we always
know the origin of our wood in detail. We natu-
rally prefer to use certified wood.
Metsä Group is a strong pioneer in forest certi-
Also in terms of sustainability,
Metsä Fibre is one of the top
international companies in our
industry. We verify and audit
the origin of all our wood to
ensure forest diversity and
growth now and in the future.
fication: more than 80 per cent of the wood used
by its production facilities comes from certified
forests. To put this figure into context, less than
10 per cent of the world’s forests are certified.
In autumn 2012, Metsä Group was awarded an
FSC group certificate. It covers the forests owned
by the group – almost 35,000 hectares in total.
A PEFC certificate has already been granted for
these forests. The purpose of the FSC project was
to test the applicability of the new standard to
Finnish forestry.
Contractual customers of Metsä Group’s par-
ent company Metsäliitto Cooperative can also
join the FSC group certificate. However, FSC cer-
tification is not expected to gain much ground in
Finland in the next few years. Most of the wood
purchased by Metsä Group comes from Finnish
private forest owners – some 920,000 people in
total, most of whom have already chosen PEFC
certification for their forests. In addition to forest
owner-specific certifications, both PEFC and FSC
can offer group certification, which keeps costs
reasonable even if certified holdings are small.
Metsä Group considers both the PEFC and
FSC schemes equally sound guarantees of a sus-
tainable chain of custody.
AT
P A G E 3 3E C H O M O N I T O R
RELEASE YOUR CREATIVITYMetsä Fibre’s Innovation Forum was
launched in February to gather ideas and
improvement suggestions from employees
across the business.
“The Innovation Forum has started
well and found its place in the daily work
of inventive Metsä Fibre employees. All
sorts of exciting ideas have come in,” says
Ursula Lumme, Vice President, Product
Development at Metsä Fibre.
The forum’s purpose is to harness the
staff ’s creativity with a transparent proc-
ess that anyone can be part of. Develop-
ment suggestions can be on anything
from products and services to company
procedures. Besides the opportunity
to suggest new ideas, the forum also
gives employees the chance to vote on,
comment on and develop other people’s
ideas. The Challenge section presents
urgent cases that require immediate
inspiration.
“Some of the ideas have been about
developing production processes. The
challenges of usability and tall oil have
inspired people to generate ideas. On the
other hand, lots of suggestions have been
made about sales, customer services and
products,” explains Lumme.
“Catalyzers” have been selected to
push innovation activities forward. They
evaluate plans and expedite them. With
their help, more and more suggestions
can be refined into first-class ideas.
“The biggest challenge is to activate
more Metsä Fibre employees to actively
participate using the Innovation Forum.
In practice, this means developing it into
a tool that is seen as a natural part of the
daily development work.”
IMPROVED ONLINE SERVICEThe Botnia Customer Extranet has been
upgraded: Botnia Fibre Online is now
available for Metsä Fibre customers.
Our goal was to create a user-friendly
service with the content clearly organised
and displayed. Delivery-related quantity
and quality reports can be easily found
from the navigation, as well as accurate,
up-to-date information on our products,
services and sustainable development
activities, and contact information for the
customer responsibility chain.
We want to continue to improve our
online service, so please get in touch if you
have any feedback or development ideas!
NEW BOTNIA PRODUCT NAMES NOW ON PULP UNITSMetsä Fibre is one of the world’s
leading manufacturers of softwood
pulp, and its Botnia brand is well
known in the pulp sector. The
brand promises the highest quality
pulps with services and compe-
tence to support our customers’
competitiveness. In addition to
responsibly produced pulp, the
Botnia brand also includes techni-
cal and logistical services related to
the use and development of fibre.
The Botnia product family,
whose product names were all
harmonised in February 2012,
comprises Botnia Nordic Pine
(long fibre softwood pulp),
Botnia Nordic Birch (short fibre
pulp), Botnia Nordic Strong
(strong reinforcement pulp),
and Botnia High Yield (BCTMP
pulp). Since October, the new
product names can now be
seen on pulp units.
ECHO MARK
E C H O M A R KP A G E 3 4
In the bathroom you might come across it
while cleaning your teeth in the morning. In
the kitchen you might find its name printed
on the side of your cereal box. It wouldn’t be
unusual if the bread you ate for breakfast also
contained it. Carboxymethyl cellulose or CMC
might not sound familiar, but most of us con-
sume it every day.
“CMC is used, for example, in toothpastes. It
keeps the paste solid, so that it doesn’t run off
the toothbrush. At the same time, it transforms
the paste so that it slides comfortably in your
mouth,” explains Jaana Ahtikari, Sales and Mar-
keting Director at CP Kelco, the world’s larg-
est manufacturer of carboxymethyl cellulose.
This remarkable compound has hundreds
of different uses, spanning everything from the
food industry to oil drilling. And new ones are
being developed all the time. Approximately
230,000 tons of carboxymethyl cellulose are
sold globally every year.
CP Kelco’s factory at Äänekoski in central
Finland is home to a production line that man-
ufactures CMC specifically for use in the food
industry, in compliance with the industry’s strict
standards.
“CMC is also used in food packaging,” says
Ahtikari. “Production on these dedicated lines
follows the applicable standards for food packag-
ing. The paper industry also uses the compound
in a wide range of different applications.”
TEXT / TAINA VUOKKO, PHOTO / ARI HEINONEN
C M C
in a tube
P A G E 3 5E C H O M A R K
“You might not have heard of CMC, but you probably consume it every day.”
PAPER INDUSTRY
FOOD INDUSTRY
FOOD PACKAGING
CMC
READ MORE
METSAFIBRE.COM