The operations at Metsä Group’s and Valmet’s 3D fibre product demo plant in Äänekoski, Finland, has begun. At the end of 2020, Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring and Valmet announced they would be investing a total of approximately Euro 20 million in the demo plant.
The demo plant is part of Metsä Group’s integrated mill site in Äänekoski, and it produces finished 3D fibre packaging products directly from wet pulp without intermediate phases. The moulded fibre-based packaging can replace plastic for example in food packaging. The demo plant currently employs approximately ten people.
“Our fibre-based packaging products are a significant new initiative in the global packaging market. The novelty in our products includes their layered structure, which, in turn, allows their production in a raw material and energy efficient manner applying a highly automated production process. The layered structure also allows the products to be easily modified for different purposes. The customers’ reception of the new product has been very positive. We know we’re on the right path,” says Metsä Group’s project lead, VP, Jarkko Tuominen.
Bild: 3D-fibre-product
The demo plant has started a testing and development phase that will last a few years. The goal of this phase is to prove the competitiveness of the production and of the product in the packaging market. If this goal is achieved, it will be possible to consider building a larger production unit.
Metsä Spring is Metsä Group’s innovation company. Metsä Spring invests worldwide in promising young enterprises (startups) and conducts R&D activities also on its own.
