Stora Enso to double formed fiber production capacity

Stora Enso, a renewable packaging and biomaterials manufacturer based in Helsinki, has announced it is investing 8 million euros (or about $9.04 million) to double its production capacity of formed fiber in Europe. Through the investment, the company’s annual formed fiber capacity will grow from 50 million to approximately 115 million units of product.

“There is a high demand in the market for eco-friendly, circular packaging solutions that replace plastic and other fossil-based materials,” says Sohrab Kazemahvazi, senior vice president of formed fiber at Stora Enso. “Our formed fiber offering can help brand owners meet their sustainability targets while responding to consumers’ demands for a cleaner future. Through our investment and the capacity increase, we further improve our position in this growing market.”

Formed fiber products are manufactured from various chemical pulps and chemi-thermomechanical pulp by pressing it into the desired shape in a molding machine. The raw material is pulp made from wood from sustainable sources in Sweden and Finland. Stora Enso will manufacture the raw material at its mills in Sweden and Finland and perform the converting at its Hylte site in Sweden. Along with the investment, Stora Enso will recruit more than 10 employees for formed fiber production in Sweden. 

Stora Enso’s formed fiber products can be used in food packaging such as bowls, trays and lids and the development of fiber bottles. PureFiber by Stora Enso is a range of formed fiber products that contain no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and has up to a 75 percent lower CO2 footprint compared with alternative packaging materials such as plastic or bagasse.

Stora Enso says it hopes to offer 100 percent regenerative products and solutions by 2050. The group is also committing to new 2030 targets for its key sustainability priorities: climate change, biodiversity and circularity. The company says its climate target is aligned with the Paris agreement and science-based targets.