HELSINKI, January 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stora Enso has signed a
letter of intent with Anaika Group to sell part of the Kemijärvi Mill real
estate to Anaika Group to enable it to start a high quality engineering
works and gluelam beam operations at the mill site. When in full
production, Anaika Group's operations will employ about 100 people directly
and provide substantial indirect employment in the region. Anaika Group
will itself develop the production facilities.
Stora Enso has also signed a letter of intent to outsource the
maintenance operations of its Anjala and Kotka Mills in Kymenlaakso to
Empower Oy, which will offer approximately 100 jobs to Stora Enso employees
affected by restructuring measures. In addition, subject to the scope of
the final agreement, about 200 current Stora Enso maintenance employees not
affected by the ongoing restructuring would be transferred to Empower.
Empower offers great local employment opportunities for Stora Enso
professionals.
"Our goal has been and remains to secure domestic supplies of fibre for
our large integrated pulp and paper mills with over 2000 employees in
Veitsiluoto and Oulu, while also finding long-term solutions for our
employees made redundant through the mill closures in Kemijärvi and
Kymenlaakso. Stora Enso has in co-operation with the Finnish government
tried to find solutions for Kemijärvi and Kymenlaakso. Today we can
announce the first concrete steps. We hope all parties will support these
efforts and further steps to come," said Stora Enso CEO Jouko Karvinen.
Aulis Ansaharju, EVP, Stora Enso Fine Paper and Country Manager
Finland, elaborated: "The agreement to establish an engineering works and
gluelam beam business in Kemijärvi will directly provide about 100 local
jobs. In addition, about 50 employees have the option of retiring. This
already provides a solution for about two-thirds of those directly affected
by restructuring, but we are also working to find more opportunities. "Also
very importantly, the long-term supply agreement with Anaika Group will
provide sawlogs to Anaika Group for gluelam beam production and chips as a
by-product to Stora Enso. This will strongly support our objective of
securing domestic supplies of fibre for the Veitsiluoto and Oulu Mills,
which directly employ over 2 000 people and provide indirect employment for
many times more.
Finally, this agreement will support our objective of increasing
domestic wood sourcing. In 2007 we increased domestic sourcing by three
million cubic metres, adding EUR 150 million and 450 man-years of
employment to the local economy. We want to decrease the amount of wood
imported and increase domestic sourcing." Stora Enso will offer the
required real estate to Anaika Group on favourable terms and issue a vendor
note. This EUR 7 million capital loan is in addition to Stora Enso's
already reserved EUR 10 million voluntary support package, which was
announced earlier to help the personnel affected to find new employment.
The Finnish government will also provide financial support to this
transaction. The final agreements with both these companies are scheduled
to be signed at the latest during this spring.
Anaika Group Ltd Oy is a Finnish technology growth company established
in 2004 that designs, manufactures and operates products and complete
process systems for the mechanical wood processing industry. It also has
engineering works and provides consulting services.
Empower Oy is one of the largest service providers in the energy,
telecommunications and industrial sector in Finland and the Baltic States.
Empower operates in dozens of locations in Finland, the Baltic States and
Russia. Empower has a turnover of EUR 161 million and about 2 000
employees, including 700 in the Baltic States. http://www.empower.fi
http://www.storaenso.com
http://www.storaenso.com/investors
For further information, please contact:
Jouko Karvinen, CEO,
tel. +358-2046-21410;
Aulis Ansaharju, EVP,
Fine Paper and Country Manager,
Finland,
tel. +358-400-480-984;
Kari Vainio, EVP,
Corporate Communications,
tel. +44-7799-348-197
Keith B Russell, SVP,
Investor Relations,
tel. +44-7775-788-659
Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, VP,
Investor Relations and Financial Communications,
tel. +358-40-763-8767
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SOURCE Stora Enso
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CONTACT:
For further information, please contact:
Jouko Karvinen, CEO, tel. +358-2046-21410; Aulis Ansaharju, EVP,
Fine Paper and Country Manager, Finland, tel. +358-400-480-984;
Kari Vainio, EVP, Corporate Communications, tel.
+44-7799-348-197; Keith B Russell, SVP, Investor Relations, tel.
+44-7775-788-659; Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, VP, Investor Relations
and Financial Communications, tel. +358-40-763-8767
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