SWEDEN -- Södra announced this week that it has begun an expansion of the Södra pulp mill in Värö. The Board of Directors at Södra made a decision in February to invest SEK 4 billion ($559 million) in a massive expansion of the pulp mill in Värö, north of Varberg.

The Land and Environment Court has now given Södra permission to begin the actual construction work. The expanded mill is scheduled to start up in the autumn of 2016. This expansion involves increasing the current production capacity of 425,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes of pulp per year. This will make the mill one of the biggest in the world in terms of softwood sulphate pulp production.

"The paper pulp market is growing globally, and now it will be possible for us to continue to grow together with our customers. The expansion at Södra Cell Värö is a measure which will reinforce our market position. We already supply high-quality pulp to a number of different customer segments, and we can now develop and underpin this. Our aim is to be the first choice for customers," said Lars Idermark, Södra's CEO.

Valmet and NCC have been selected as the main suppliers for the project. Valmet will be supplying a new continuous digester and upgrades to wood handling, the fiber line, evaporation plant, soda recovery boiler, causticisation, flashdryer, drying machine and baling. Pasi Laine, Group President of Valmet, took part in the ceremony.

NCC has been commissioned to carry out the groundwork, civil engineering works and construction works, and was represented at the ceremony by Nils Bjelm, Civil Engineering Segment Manager at NCC Construction Sweden.

The expansion of Södra Cell in Värö will create 400 FTEs over a period of ten years. The investment will also create new job opportunities at the mill and 220 job opportunities within surrounding businesses.