UPM to close down Jyväskylä plywood mill

The Finnish forestry company UPM is planning to permanently close its Jyväskylä plywood mill, which produces spruce and birch plywood, said a press release on Tuesday.

The company will start a consultation process concerning the entire personnel working at the mill.

UPM Jyväskylä plywood mill employs 167 people.

The company authorities took the decision for closing down the mill as its profitability has been weak for a long time, even during periods of high demand.

Despite investments as well as savings and improvement activities, the profitability has not improved to a sustainable level, said the release.

Competition in the birch plywood market is increasing constantly. New birch plywood capacity has been built, especially in Russia, where the level of production cost is significantly more competitive than in Finland.

According to UPM, if realised, the planned actions would strengthen UPM Plywood’s overall competitiveness and performance in the long run.

“In Finland, a full run of the capacity has not been feasible due to the terms in the wood-working industry. In addition, repeated labour market disturbances have weakened the delivery reliability of Finnish mills. According to the plan, the products currently manufactured in Jyväskylä would be produced in other UPM Plywood mills in Finland, Estonia, and Russia”, said UPM Plywood Executive Vice-President Mika Sillanpää.