UPM Plywood, a business area within Finland-headed forest industry major UPM has announced that it is to invest EUR 50 million to increase production capacity and product portfolio at its Chudovo plywood mill in Russia. In addition to the production capacity growth, a new biomass-fired heat boiler will be built at the mill site.
According to a statement, UPM seeks to further strengthen its position as the leading plywood manufacturer in Europe. Following successful growth investments in Finland and Estonia over the past few years, UPM is investing EUR 50 million to expand production capacity at its Chudovo plywood mill in Russia.
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 biomass-fired 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, said 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 and is estimated to be completed by the end of 2019. During the expansion production at the mill will continue normally.
More than 40 percent 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 biomass 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 biomass by-products from plywood production such as bark, chips and dust.
Facts
About UPM Chudovo
UPM Chudovo mill is one of the nine UPM Plywood mills. The mill’s history dates back to 1990 as the first Soviet-Finnish joint venture. UPM became its’ sole owner in 2005. 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.
