Finnish forest products group UPM has applied to the Uruguayan government for approval to increase production capacity at its Fray Bentos pulp mill by 15%, further strengthening its South American operations while continuing to adjust production in Finland.<\/p>\n
The expansion would raise annual capacity at the Fray Bentos mill from 1.3 million tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes of bleached eucalyptus pulp. The facility has been operating since 2007 and is one of UPM's two large pulp mills in Uruguay.<\/p>\n
The investment reflects the company's long-term strategy of expanding production in regions with competitive fibre costs while facing persistent raw material challenges in Europe.<\/p>\n
Following the end of Russian timber imports, Finland's forest industry has experienced tighter wood supplies and sharply higher timber prices, significantly increasing production costs for domestic pulp mills.<\/p>\n
At the same time, UPM has repeatedly adjusted production at its Finnish operations to match market conditions and manage costs.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the company temporarily shut down its Pietarsaari pulp mill for three weeks. It has also announced a planned six-week production shutdown at the Kaukas pulp mill in Lappeenranta during August and September. A further production stoppage is planned at Pietarsaari in October, although the exact dates have not yet been confirmed.<\/p>\n
UPM's South American footprint has expanded significantly in recent years. In addition to Fray Bentos, the company started up its Paso de los Toros pulp mill in Uruguay in 2023, adding 2.1 million tonnes of annual eucalyptus pulp capacity.<\/p>\n
Both Uruguayan mills produce bleached eucalyptus pulp, a raw material widely used in tissue, toilet paper and hygiene products, where global demand has continued to grow. By contrast, UPM's Finnish pulp mills have traditionally focused on softwood and birch pulp.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n