Metsä Board has started up a new folding boxboard production line at its Husum mill in Sweden. The company is aiming the 400,000 tons per year volume of the production line, as well as at food service end-uses such as cups, plates and trays globally.

“Metsä Board is well-known for its high-quality, lightweight folding boxboards, used widely in packaging globally. Thanks to the new production line and our recent product development, we are now able to respond to food service packaging requirements and demand better than ever before,” said CEO Mika Joukio.

According to Metsä Board, the folding boxboard machine BM1 is the most significant part of the EUR 170 million investment program carried out at the Husum mill site.

Last November, Metsä Board also announced it is investing an additional EUR 38 million in a new extrusion coating line and related infrastructure in Husum. Start-up for this line is expected at the beginning of 2017.

The Husum mill has an annual capacity to produce 400,000 tonnes of folding boxboard; 300,000 tonnes of linerboard; 750,000 tonnes of bleached kraft pulp.