The project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2019.

合板

UPM expands its Chudovo birch plywood mill in Russia by 45,000 to 155,000 m3 investing Euro 50 million

UPM expands its Chudovo plywood mill in Russia by investing Euro 50 million, company announced. The project will increase the mill's production capacity by 45,000 to 155,000 m3 while also broadening the mill's product portfolio. In addition to the production capacity growth, a new bio heat boiler will be built at the mill site. "The expansion of the Chudovo mill is an important step in executing our strategy. Our goal is to further strengthen our leading position in priority end-use segments. New competitive birch plywood capacity improves our ability to respond to growing demand in our key markets, while delivering industry-leading quality and reliability," says Mika Sillanpää, Executive Vice President of UPM Plywood.


 
The expansion project consists of new plywood production lines including all machinery needed for veneer and plywood manufacturing. The expansion will be realised using mainly existing facilities, infrastructure and resources. More than 40% of the subcontracting related to the investment will be sourced locally. The expansion is estimated to create roughly 100 new jobs both directly at the mill and indirectly, for example, in wood procurement and logistics. The new 19 MW bio heat boiler will decrease the consumption of fossil fuels at the mill. Most of the heat energy for the mill will be generated by using biological by-products from plywood production such as bark, chips and dust. The project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2019. During the expansion production at the mill will continue normally.

 UPM Chudovo mill is one of the nine UPM Plywood mills. It employs directly approximately 600 people and the annual capacity is 110,000 m3 of birch plywood. Annual birch veneer log supply is 300,000 m3. All the wood for the mill is sourced from sustainably managed forests. UPM Chudovo has FSC certificate on controlled wood sourcing. UPM Chudovo plywood mill produces coated and uncoated birch WISA plywood e.g. for construction, vehicle flooring and LNG carriers. The mill's products are granted international VTT's and DIN Otto Graf's certificates, the Governmental Standard equivalence certificate and the Russian Federation health certificate. The mill also received DNV ISO 9001 and 14000. In addition, the mill is following the OHSAS 18001 standard.