ŽDIREC, Czech Republic - Finnish forest product giant Stora Enso will invest 79 million euros (around $93 million) in a new cross-laminated timber production line at one of its sawmills in the Czech Republic. The expansion will add around 110 fulltime employees.

 

"This investment enables us to accelerate our growth within the mass timber construction market," said Lars Völkel, Executive Vice President of the company's wood products division. "CLT is showing significant growth potential in the market, with characteristics that make it possible to build higher, lighter and yet stronger than ever before. With our well-proven building concepts and supporting digital tools, we intend to inspire and drive the construction industry towards a more sustainable future, built on renewable materials."

 

Construction is set to begin early next year, with production scheduled to begin third quarter of 2022. Estimated annual production capacity will be 4.3 million cubic feet of CLT. The company expects the new line to generate around 70 million euros (around $82 million) annually.

 

Currently, Stora Enso has three CLT production units in Sweden and Austria with a total capacity of 9.5 million cubic feet.

 

Stora Enso Oyj is a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The majority of its sales takes place in Europe, but there are also significant operations in Asia, South America and the United States. The company was formed in 1998, when the Swedish mining and forestry products company Stora AB merged with the Finnish forestry products company Enso Oyj. In 2018, the company employed 26,000.