Finnish paper mill Metso has started the investment in new facilities in Araucaria, Parana state, in southeastern Brazil. The investment will improve Metso's competitiveness in serving the pulp and paper and power generation industries, and thus strengthen its presence in emerging markets. At the first phase, Metso's investment will amount to around EUR 14 million (BRL 30 million). Later on, the investment will be continued by further increasing the capacity and capabilities of the new facilities.

The new facilities in Araucaria will be built on a 60,000 m2 land area. The unit will be operational by the end of 2011. When the new facilities are ready Metso will move all activities from the current leased facilities in Curitiba, located approximately 10 km from the new site.
The coastal rainforest, Mata Atlantica, is a dense evergreen and semi-deciduous forest formation originally covering vast areas along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Deforestation in Parana has taken place massively since the beginning of 20th Century, today forest cover is reduced to less than 10%.