21 Sept. 2023: Leading Finnish tissue paper manufacturer Metsä Tissue, part of Metsä Group, to create 400+ direct jobs over the next decade through planned investment totalling several hundreds of millions of pounds.

• Goole chosen as site for Metsä Tissue’s planned investment in new tissue paper mill, increasing the UK’s self-sufficiency by more than 30 per cent in the production of essential tissue products.
• Planned investment worth several hundreds of millions of pounds will create 400+ new local jobs with thousands of indirect jobs generated across the supply chain.
• New mill to boast largest tissue production capacity in the UK and latest in sustainable production technology.
• The plan consists of 240,000 tons of tissue paper production capacity, built in several phases during the upcoming decade.

Metsä Tissue today announces that it has chosen Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire as the site for its planned new state-of-the-art tissue paper mill in the UK. This landmark investment of several hundreds of millions of pounds will deliver the largest tissue mill in the UK and significantly reduce the quantity of tissue products that are currently imported into the UK and Ireland each year. The new mill will create 400+ jobs at the facility, as well as thousands more across the supply chain and the local economy.

“Goole is the perfect location for this proposed investment. The Humber region provides a crucial gateway to the whole of the United Kingdom and the region’s ambitions to bring cutting-edge green technology and jobs to the UK matches our ambitions in clean, sustainable manufacturing,” says Esa Kaikkonen, CEO of Metsä Tissue.

Up to 45% of tissue products are currently imported into the UK and Ireland. Metsä Tissue aims to replace almost half of the imported products with local British production, using fresh fibre pulp as the main raw material from sustainably-managed forests in the Nordics. Reducing the reliance on imports will have a positive impact on the UK’s productivity, carbon footprint and self-sufficiency for essential tissue products.

The Goole facility will use cutting-edge sustainable production technologies to deliver an efficient and modern facility with world class environmental performance. Metsä Tissue’s activity is rooted in sustainability, with a target for all products to be manufactured from fully fossil-fuel-free raw materials by 2030 as the company strives to achieve a net zero society. Additionally, we aim for all our mills, including the new Goole facility, to operate without the use of fossil fuels by 2030.

Subject to planning and environmental permits and a final investment decision, the site will occupy an area of around 200 acres and will have the capacity to produce 240,000 tons of tissue paper, built in several phases over the next decade, serving both the professional and consumer markets – a level of production unrivalled in the UK. The planned facility would be the first major investment in the proposed Goole tax site within the Humber Freeport, which aims to accelerate inward investment in the Humber region.

“We are delighted to announce our plan to invest in a world-class production site in Goole. This exciting investment would bring the UK and Finland together through combining the sustainable raw material of fresh wood fibres grown in the Nordics with world-class local production of quality tissues in the UK. We are thrilled about how these plans can contribute to more sustainable local tissue production in the UK, offering alternatives to the currently imported tissue products. The project will significantly enhance Metsä Tissue’s presence in this country and underscores the importance of the UK market to our business in the years ahead” concludes Esa Kaikkonen.

Minister for Investment, Lord Dominic Johnson, said: “This investment is a huge vote of confidence in Goole, Yorkshire and Humberside. With hundreds of millions of pounds being committed, and thousands of jobs being created at both the new site and in the wider supply chain, this will have huge benefits for workers and businesses in Goole and many communities across East Riding, Yorkshire, Humberside and North Lincolnshire. We know that Yorkshire is one of the best places in the country to invest, and today’s announcement by Metsä further cements this. Last year alone, we saw 103 new projects in Yorkshire that were a result of inward investment, which collectively will create over 7,000 jobs.”

*) Added a quote from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak at 11:50 EET: “Metsä Tissue’s investment is good for Yorkshire, good for our economy and good for sustainability. This announcement is another example of the UK being the first choice for European investment and delivers on my commitment to grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country.”

Invitation to public event 

As part of Metsä Tissue’s plans to get to know the community in which it plans to invest, Metsä Tissue CEO Esa Kaikkonen will host open-for-all public events on Thursday 2 November at 3 pm and 6 pm in the RaisE Building, Tom Pudding Way, Goole DN14 6BS. Joining Esa Kaikkonen, will be Technical Director Alan Jeffery and SVP, UK & Ireland Mika Paljakka.

The event will be available to view on Metsä Tissue’s website at https://www.metsagroup.com/metsatissue/projects/metsa-tissue-mill-in-the-uk/ and on YouTube on Metsä Group’s profile, www.youtube.com/metsagroup, soon after the event.