Stora Enso Announces Plan to Permanently Close a Paper Machine at Its Anjala, Finland, Facility

Stora Enso OYJ announced Wednesday (4-12-23) that intends to consolidate its book paper production and permanently close one of the two paper machines at its Anjala facility in Finland. The company says it will start change negotiations concerning all employees at the integrated Anjalankoski site.

Citing the prevailing weakness in paper demand and high input costs, Stora Enso has initiated a plan to concentrate all book paper production on one line. With the remaining paper machine, the company would be able to continue producing its selection of book paper grades. The planned closure of the line producing uncoated mechanical grades would reduce the site’s annual capacity by 250,000 tons and sales of approximately EUR 100 million.

Stora Enso says the planned closure of the production line would not have a material impact on the company’s operational EBIT. Due to further deterioration of the long-term market demand, Stora Enso has recorded EUR 19 million of non-cash asset write-downs related to the Anjala site in its 2023Q1 results as an item affecting comparability (IAC). Additionally, during 2023, the company expects to record a cost of approximately EUR 16 million as an IAC, of which approximately EUR 13 million would have a cash impact, relating to the potential lay-offs and restructuring expenses at the site.