Stora Enso is closing down its mills in Kvarnsveden and Veitsiluoto

Stora Enso has decided to close down production of paper and pulp at the mills in Kvarnsveden (Sweden) and Veitsiluoto (Finland.)

The planned shutdowns are scheduled for Q3 2021 and will affect 670 employees in Finland and 440 employees in Sweden.

Stora Enso’s paper production capacity will be reduced by 35 per cent to 2.6 million tonnes per year after the closures. According to a press release, paper will only make up about 10 per cent of Stora Enso’s turn over after the shutdowns in Kvarnsveden and Veitsiluoto.

“In a rapidly decreasing paper market we have to adjust our production capacity in order to improve our competitiveness in the overall paper business.  We are focusing on packaging, building constructions and innovations within bio material, where we see a strong growth potential.”

Stora Enso’s CEO Annica Bresky

Furthermore, the company says in the press release that the demand for paper in Europe has decreased over the last ten years and that this trend has accelerated during the covid pandemic, which has led to changes in consumer behavior. As a result of this, there is now a substantial oversupply in the European paper market which has caused low price levels. The mills at Kvarnsveden and Veitsiluoto have both lost money lately and their profitability is expected to remain unsatisfactory in the years to come.