Russia

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 100 million to finance the modernisation and expansion of an integrated pulp and paper mill in Syktyvkar in the Russian Federation. This is the first EIB loan provided by the Bank under the Eastern Partners Facility (EPF).

International technology Group ANDRITZ has received an order by SFT Group, a rapidly growing packaging producer in Russia, to rebuild and modernize a mothballed kraft paper machine after dismantling it at UPM’s Kymi mill in Finland and relocating it to SFT’s Kamenskaya mill in the Tver region, Russia.

The modernized board machine for the production of fluting and testliner will have a capacity of 215,000 t/a (design speed 1,050 m/min, trim width 4,600 mm). Start-up is scheduled for October 2012.

The Forestry Branch of OJSC Ilim Group in Koryazhma (Arkhangelsk Oblast) has gone through audit verifying the compliance with the FSC Forest Management requirements. No significant incompliances with the international standards have been identified during the audit which was carried out by GFA (Germany). After the audit the Forestry Branch was included in the list of Ilim Group Branches covered by the multi-site Forest Management FSC Certificate.

Russia, Aug 17, 2011 - Last month Mondi Syktyvkar launched the large-scale Forest of the Future project to further strengthen its forestry operations. The program is scheduled to close in 2013.

Helsinki, Finland, Jul 28, 2011 - All the necessary approvals concerning the sales of UPM’s Russian logging company ZAO Tikhvinsky Komplexny Lespromkhoz to International Paper have been obtained and the transaction has been closed.