Stora Enso Invests in Building a Competence Centre and Diversifying the Raw Material Base for Biocomposites

"With the new equipment in place, Stora Enso will be able to provide more choice to DuraSense™ users in the technical properties and selection of fibres for the biocomposites, and also offer an attractive price position compared to traditional plastics. This will make it easier for customers to switch from existing material solutions to those based on biocomposites," says Patricia Oddshammar, Head of Biocomposites in Stora Enso.

"With the new equipment in place, Stora Enso will be able to provide more choice to DuraSense™ users in the technical properties and selection of fibres for the biocomposites, and also offer an attractive price position compared to traditional plastics. This will make it easier for customers to switch from existing material solutions to those based on biocomposites," says Patricia Oddshammar, Head of Biocomposites in Stora Enso.

Production of large fibres is scheduled to start by the end of 2019.

The Biocomposites Competence Centre will be built in one of the existing buildings at Hylte Mill. The competence centre will house a laboratory and piloting facilities, performance testing capabilities and a show room. The building project for the competence centre is estimated to start in the 2018 and be completed during 2019.

"At the new Biocomposites Competence Centre we will be able to share our knowledge with our customers as well as assist them with test runs and product testing, step by step," Oddshammar says.

The investment of EUR 7 million will further strengthen Stora Enso's position as a renewable materials company. The biocomposite mill in Hylte started up earlier this year. Its annual production capacity is 15 000 tonnes, making it the largest wood fibre-based biocomposite plant in Europe. Although the new investment will not have significant impact on the production capacity, it will diversify the raw material base.

As previously communicated, once fully ramped up, the biocomposite business will increase Stora Enso's Wood Products sales by approximately EUR 25 million and will exceed the division's profitability target, operational return on operating capital (ROOC) of 20%.

For further information, please contact:
Ulrika Lilja, EVP, Communications, tel. +46-72-221-9228

Investor enquiries:
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, SVP, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 763 8767

Part of the bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper. We believe that everything that is made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has some 26 000 employees in over 30 countries. Our sales in 2017 were EUR 10 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY). storaenso.com

For further information, please contact:
Ulrika Lilja
EVP, Communications
tel. +46-72-221-9228

Investor enquiries: 
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio
SVP, Investor Relations
tel. +358-40-763-8767

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http://news.cision.com/stora-enso-oyj/r/stora-enso-invests-in-building-a-competence-centre-and-diversifying-the-raw-material-base-for-biocom,c2592590

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