Mirka’s new 25M€ investment, first of its kind in the world
15 March 2024
Mirka is continuing its journey as a market shaper and leading the whole abrasives industry by building an innovative circular grain manufacturing plant in Jeppo, Finland. The investment will reduce Mirka’s CO2 footprint by approximately 5000 tons and the first circular abrasive products will be launched during 2026.
Business Finland has granted Mirka 5,89 M€ RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility) funding to establish a circular grain manufacturing (CIGMA) plant. The CIGMA plant will utilize waste streams from the industry as well as abrasive waste from both production and end users to process and produce new circular ceramic and abrasive grains.
- Mirka is taking an industry-shaping leap by introducing the first truly circular concept in the global abrasives industry. This is a very ambitious initiative, so the Business Finland support is crucial, and we are very grateful for the funding. The whole investment is estimated to be around 25 M€ and the plant will be the first of its kind in the world, says CEO Stefan Sjöberg.
- Business Finland is very happy to support Mirka’s roadmap as a true forerunner in the circular transition of the abrasives industry. This investment is evidence of the strong development of the manufacturing industry in Finland, says Account & Ecosystem Manager Ulf-Erik Widd at Business Finland.
From a linear to a circular concept
The abrasive manufacturing industry is typically following a linear economy model where the abrasives are seen as mass-produced products with short lifetimes and challenging recycling possibilities. This is a common challenge for the whole abrasives industry where the grains stand for the biggest part of the products’ CO2 footprint.
- The circular grain handling process, developed within our CIGMA project, addresses this challenge by enabling us to move from virgin grains to utilizing used abrasive material as well as side streams currently disposed as landfill, says R&D Director Mats Sundell.
Mirka is committed to advancing circularity and one of Mirka’s sustainability targets is to reach a 70 % circularity rate for its product portfolio by 2035. The CIGMA investment is a significant step towards achieving this goal.
- This is a project that will not only fast track our green transition but also enhance the circularity of the whole abrasives industry. Through this project Mirka will be able to lead the abrasives industry by being the first company to supply fully circular abrasives, says Sjöberg.
Increased local employment
The plant covers 7000 m² and will be built on the Mirka production site in Jeppo. The facility is estimated to be ready for production at the end of 2025.
- We are now making history, as we are introducing a completely new industry to Finland. This is fantastic news also locally, as the investment will bring in EU recovery funding to the region and create more than 50 new jobs, says Sjöberg.
For more information, please contact:
CEO Stefan Sjöberg, tel. +358 40 824 7385