new orders for metso.

New orders for Metso. Metso Paper, Helsinki, Finland, received an order for an OptiConcept newsprint line from new joint-venture company Hebei PanAsia Long-Teng Paper Co. Ltd., China. The newsprint line will use 100% recycled fiber as raw material. Production startup will be summer 2005. Hebei PanAsia Long-Teng Paper is a joint venture of PanAsia Paper Co. Pte Ltd., Singapore, and Hebei Longteng Paper Corp. China. Norske Skog (Norway) and Abitibi-Consolidated (Canada) in turn own PanAsia Paper, the major partner, through 65% ownership.

In other Metso news: The company will be a major supplier for Stora Enso North America's coated fine paper machine rebuild of Paper Machine Number 97 in Kimberly, Wisconsin, USA, due for completion in 2004.

Metso Paper will supply a BCTMP (bleached chemithermomechanical pulp) line for mechanical pulp production for Shandong Bohui Paper Co. Ltd, Bohui, Shandong, China. With a design capacity of 660 metric tons per day, the new line will produce high-quality, highbulk BCTMP pulp for board production. Chinese poplar will be the raw material in the process slated for startup in September 2004.

Metso Automation and ABB signed an agreement transferring business ownership and key resources of ABB's Total Quality Analyzer (TQA) product line to Metso. This acquisition will enhance Metso Automation's capability to offer complete pulp quality optimization solutions for Thermomechanical Pulp (TMP) refining processes. The TQA product line will merge with Metso Automation's process analyzer business unit. Metso Automation and Metso Paper will now combine analyzers, automation, machinery, and process knowledge into solution packages to optimize pulping process performance.

Metso's board has also decided to renew Metso's management model so that its business areas--Metso Paper, Metso Minerals, Metso Automation and Metso Ventures--will operate with wider independence by developing their own strategies.

Metso Corp. has been chosen for the new Kempen/SNS Smaller Europe SRI Index. Sixty-nine enterprises from twelve countries have been chosen for the Kempen/SNS Smaller Europe SRI Index. Some 1700 European enterprises were evaluated on the basis of business ethics, personnel management, and environmental responsibility. This index was published for the first time on October 1, 2003.