'A new factory at Stora Enso's idle Veitsiluoto woodfree uncoated and coated magazine paper mill in Kemi, Finland, is to recycle waste textiles and produce regenerated textile fibre for 100 million T-Shirts, says Infinited Fiber.
Infinited Fiber Company will build its first commercial-scale regenerated textile fibre factory at Stora Enso’s Veitsiluoto industrial site in Kemi, Finland. The Finnish company plans to convert a building currently housing a discontinued paper machine and install a production line for 30,000 tonnes of recycled textile fibre. The textile fibre factory is said to create around 270 jobs at the Veitsiluoto industrial site and is expected to start operations in 2024. Full capacity is to be reached in 2025.
"Both the factory engineering and project implementation as well as the related financing negotiations were commenced at the beginning of the year and are progressing well," Infinited Fiber announced. The company puts the total project cost at approximately €400m.
"Infinited Fiber Company’s technology enables cotton-rich textile waste to be transformed into a versatile, high-quality regenerated textile fibre called Infinna, which looks and feels like cotton," says Infinited Fiber. According to the company, regenerated textile fibres will be produced for leading global apparel and fashion groups such as Inditex, Patagonia or H&M group, which have alredy committed to buy the company's recycling fibres through multi-year purchase agreements.
“We are pleased to get part of the Veitsiluoto site utilized and happy about the investments and jobs that Infinited Fiber Company is set to bring there,” Stora Enso Chief Financial Officer and Finland Country Manager Seppo Parvi commented on the occasion of the investment announcement. Stora Enso closed the Veitsiluoto mill at the end of Q3 2021 cutting paper production capacity by 550,000 tpy of woodfree uncoated paper and 260,000 tpy of LWC and MWC. In addition to three paper machines, the industrial complex in Veitsiluoto also houses a 360,000 tpy chemical pulp mill, a groundwood pulp mill and a sheeting facility.
At the time of the closure announcement, Stora Enso Veitsiluoto had a staff of 530 in pulp and paper operations. Another 140 people were working at the site as part of the service and maintenance staff with Stora Enso's subsidiary Efora.
