UPM expands plywood mill in Estonia

UPM has made an investment of approximately EUR 40 million to expand its plywood mill in Otepää, Estonia.

”These investments support our strategy, which aims at delivering the highest quality products and the best customer service in the industry. New competitive production capacity improves our capability to respond to growing demand and to serve our key customer industries more reliably and effectively. Our goal is to secure our favorable profitability development,” said, Mika Sillanpää, Executive Vice President, UPM.

The scope of expansion comprises a new plywood production line including all machinery needed for veneer and plywood manufacturing. This is expected to increase the mill’s annual production capacity to 90,000 m3.

Sillanpää added, “The expansion of Otepää mill increases our capability to deliver competitive birch plywood and improves the mills material, resource and operational efficiency. The environmental performance of the mill will also improve as the new power plant will generate all heat energy for the mill from biological fuel.”

UPM will also build a new 18MW bio power plant which will use the by-products of plywood production like bark, chips and dust as its fuel.

The expansion work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016.