UPM and Sveza Group team up to prepare a modern pulp mill project in Vologda region, Northwest Russia

The planned industrial complex includes a modern pulp mill, a sawmill and an OSB building panels mill in the community of Sheksna, in the southern part of Vologda. The planned capacity of the pulp mill would be 800,000 metric tonnes, the sawmill 300,000 cubic meters and the OSB mill 450,000 cubic meters.

-Russia plays an important part in UPM's global growth strategy. Since 2004, UPM has actively investigated new openings in Russia," says UPM's President and CEO Jussi Pesonen. "This project provides us with an exciting opportunity to expand

our existing Russian operations further. UPM has the competencies and skills to construct world-class mills using the latest technology and environmental know-how."

The total investment in the facilities would exceed EUR 1.0 billion. When fully operational, the new Sheksna mills would employ approximately 650 persons, while the indirect employment benefit in the region would total thousands of jobs.

Sheksna is located in the southern part of Vologda, a region of abundant forest resources. The Vologda forests have a growing stock of close to one billion cubic meters of sustainable capacity.