Kuusakoski Group invests 25 M€ to ramp up the recycling capacity of non-ferrous metals, including aluminium

Kuusakoski Group Oy, a recycling pioneer and the only recycled aluminium producer in Finland, has reportedly invested 25 M€ in a new production line at the recycling plant in Heinola. This project will ramp up the company’s recycling capacity for non-ferrous metals, including aluminium.

The demand for recycled raw materials is skyrocketing with time as it saves considerable energy of what is required to produce virgin metal. For the first time in this decade, the production of recycled aluminium is anticipated to exceed that of primary aluminium.

In 2022, Kuusakoski supplied a substantial amount of recycled aluminium to its customers needed for 2,000 new passenger aircraft.

Kuusakoski’s recycling factory in Heinola is the largest integrated recycling plant in the Northern Europe, located across 25 hectares of land.

Mikko Kuusilehto, President and CEO of the company, said: "We have been engaged in a determined and extensive development effort focused on metal separation and waste fractions for several years. Now we have finally reached the implementation phase."

Kuusakoski’s current processing capability is efficient enough to recover metals from waste and transform them into raw materials. The new investment will enhance the recovery rate further to match the increasing demand.

Mikko Kuusilehto further said, "Nordic companies are investing heavily in the green transition, and today all discussions with our customers relate in one way or another to opportunities to build a more sustainable value chain using recycled raw materials.”

Once the project is ready, Kuusakoski’s total non-ferrous metal processing capacity will increase by 50 per cent, enabling it to provide larger volumes of high-purity recycled raw materials to the manufacturing industry.

This new investment is part of  Kuusakoski’s multi-year green investment programme.