Metsä Group has announced the construction of a new research and development (R&D) laboratory in Äänekoski, Finland, focusing on the production of veneer-based wood products.
The company has made an investment of approximately €6m ($6.81m) in the facility to advance wood product research alongside its network of partners.
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The upcoming facility will be strategically located next to the new Kerto laminated veneer lumber (LVL) mill, which is also under construction in the Äänekoski mill area.
Set for completion by the end of 2025, the laboratory will serve as a test environment for the development of new valuable veneer-based wood products.
The investment is set to establish a foundation for testing material-efficient load-bearing structures and facilitating product research utilising a more diverse raw material base.
The Äänekoski mill area, known as Metsä Group’s largest, encompasses the company’s cartonboard, veneer, and bioproduct mills.
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By GlobalDataConstruction of the new Kerto LVL mill is progressing, with the expectation that production will commence by the end of 2026.
Additionally, the Äänekoski site is home to Metsä Group’s Kuura textile fibre and Muoto fibre product pilot plants, and a demo plant for lignin-based products is also underway, with completion anticipated by the end of 2025.
Metsä Group, a Finnish company and subsidiary of Metsäliitto Cooperative, is a paper and packaging product manufacturer. Metsäliitto Cooperative is owned by over 90,000 Finnish forest owners.
Metsä Wood, the wood products business of Metsä Group, offers a range of products, including Kerto LVL, birch and spruce plywood, and further processed sawn timber.
In March 2025, Heidelberg Materials Precast Contiga, a Swedish concrete element manufacturer, and Metsä Wood introduced a hybrid wall element. This innovation is reported to have a reduced carbon footprint compared to conventional wall elements.
