Valmet receives order for Metsä Group's 3D Fiber packaging line

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 27, Valmet announced that it had received an order for Metsä Group's 3D Fiber molded fiber packaging line, with the equipment to be installed adjacent to the existing Muoto demo plant at the Äänekoski mill site in Finland, with production scheduled to start in 2028. The order has been booked into Valmet's third-quarter 2026 order intake, and the specific contract value has not been disclosed.

Metsä Group approved an investment of approximately EUR 25 million on August 11 to build this Muoto fiber packaging line, with a design nominal capacity of over 100 million units per year. The project was previously considered for Rauma but ultimately chose Äänekoski, where the existing demo production facilities and site infrastructure will continue to be used for the commercial production line.

The 3D Fiber line supplied by Valmet covers production stages including fiber processing, three-dimensional forming, and automatic packaging of finished products. This process directly uses fibers from wet wood pulp as raw material to produce three-dimensional packaging products, without a traditional intermediate forming stage, and can produce trays, plates, and food packaging containers. Valmet states that this delivery marks the first application of its 3D Fiber technology in a commercial-scale production line.

Metsä Group and Valmet have been jointly developing the Muoto production technology since 2020, started up the demo plant in Äänekoski in May 2022, and have since continued to validate equipment, products, and production processes. Metsä Group launched pre-commercial sales of Muoto products in 2024 and completed the front-end engineering design for the first commercial production facility in 2025.

Muoto products are manufactured using Metsä Group's wood fiber raw materials and can be formed into different three-dimensional structures depending on product requirements. Metsä Group currently focuses its applications on foodservice and food packaging, including trays, food containers, and other molded fiber packaging. Once the new production line is operational, the Muoto project will move from the current demo and pre-commercial production phase into commercial-scale production with an annual output of over 100 million units.