Espoo, Finland 25 April 2017 -- Metsä Board is delighted to announce the startup of its new extrusion coating line at its Husum mill in Sweden. The new state-of the-art coating line has an annual capacity of about 100,000 tonnes and represented an investment of EUR 38 million. At the same site Metsä Board operates a 270,000 tonnes efficient linerboard machine and Europe's most modern folding boxboard machine, which started production at the beginning of 2016 with yearly capacity of 400,000 tonnes.

The new extrusion coating line is now producing first orders and it will serve the global food service market and offer improved availability and competitive products. Metsä Board's PE coated paperboards respond to the tight requirements of the food service market by providing product safety, purity and protection. The paperboards are made of pure and renewable fresh fibres and are a preferred alternative to plastics for cups, plates and other takeaway packaging as well as for frozen food packaging. The paperboards also offer great value for other consumer goods and food service packaging. Currently PE is the most common barrier against moisture and water for food and food service packaging.

"In developing the new PE coated grades we have utilised our longstanding board making expertise combined with the latest technology. We have an integrated facility at Husum which is a clear advantage. We are sourcing wood close to the mill and producing pulp, board and extrusion-coated board in the same facility with an excellent location near the harbour. This enables us to minimise transport and improve the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain which is important to us and our customers," states CEO Mika Joukio.

Metsä Board is continuing development work on other innovative barrier solutions including the use of bio-based materials.

Metsä Board
www.metsabord.com

Metsä Board is a leading European producer of folding boxboards and white linerboards made from fresh fibres. Its lightweight paperboards are developed as the perfect fit for consumer goods, retail-ready and food service packaging. The pure fresh fibres Metsä Board uses are a renewable resource, traceable to origin in northern forests.

The global sales network of Metsä Board supports customers worldwide, including brand owners, converters and merchants. In 2016, the company's sales totalled EUR 1.7 billion, and it has approximately 2,500 employees. Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is a forerunner in bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and cooking papers.

Metsä Group's sales totalled EUR 4.7 billion in 2016, and it employs approximately 9,300 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and owned by approximately 104,000 Finnish forest owners.