Metsä Group has selected Kemi, in northern Finland, as the preferred site for its first commercial Kuura wood-based textile fibre mill.
The location is being assessed because the new facility could benefit from existing logistics, energy infrastructure, and the potential for integration with Metsä’s current bioproduct mill complex.
The Kuura fibre concept has been under development at Metsä’s Äänekoski demo plant since 2020, where work continues to refine the process and product properties for textile uses. The pre-engineering project launched in 2025 includes technical design, process optimisation, market-entry planning, financing options, and environmental permitting—elements required before any investment decision.
According to Metsä Spring CEO Niklas von Weymarn, the current analysis will determine whether Kuura can be produced competitively at industrial scale and how it fits into Metsä Group’s broader bioproduct strategy. The earliest timing for assessing the project’s feasibility and potential construction schedule is late 2026. If approved, the Kemi mill would have a planned capacity of about 100,000 tonnes per year, with start-up not expected before 2029.
Metsä Group is a Finnish forest industry company owned by roughly 90,000 private forest owners. Its operations cover wood supply and forest services, pulp, paperboard, tissue and greaseproof papers, and bioproduct development. The Group focuses on renewable raw materials, particularly northern wood, and invests heavily in new fibre-based products and technologies across its mills in Finland and abroad.
Source: Metsä Group
