Pulp for paper, board and tissue

Kraft pulp from sustainably managed forests

Kraft pulp is a strong, high purity wood based fiber produced through the kraft pulping process, where lignin is removed while preserving the natural strength of the cellulose fibers. This makes kraft pulp an ideal base material for paper, board and tissue products that require durability, softness, absorption or high performance in converting.

At Stora Enso, we produce a wide portfolio of bleached and unbleached kraft pulps (including NBSK, BHKP and UKP), all made from renewable wood sourced from sustainably managed forests. The result is a biodegradable, recyclable and traceable fiber material that delivers consistent quality for printing, packaging and hygiene applications. 

Kraft pulp for a variety of paper, board and tissue uses

Choose from one of the world’s widest selections of kraft pulp grades for your specific product needs. Our kraft pulps are used by the printing and writing, packaging, and tissue industries to create a wide range of coated and uncoated papers, paperboards, and hygiene products.

Our Bleached Hardwood Kraft Pulp (BHKP) and Nordic Softwood Kraft Pulp (NBSK) product grades combine fibers from different wood origins, offering either long or short fibers with distinctive properties. Some grades deliver strength and stiffness for reinforced fiber mixes, while others provide brightness, smoothness or absorption for superior surface quality. Within our Unbleached Kraft Pulp (UKP) product families, the natural fiber character and high strength of the pulp provide an excellent base for packaging, board and specialty paper applications.

Our bleached kraft pulps  

Softwood (NBSK)

Our Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp is prized for its strength and reinforcing properties; we offer two grades: standard and reinforced pulp. Our NBSK features long, slender and strong fibers that provide excellent bonding and tensile properties. The fibers collapse well for a smoother, more uniform sheet. Minimal energy is required for refining, which helps you to save on costs and extend the life of the refiner plate.

Hardwood (BHKP)

Bleached Hardwood Kraft Pulp (BHKP) offers excellent formation, opacity, porosity and absorbency. Short fibers from birch and eucalyptus provide the right balance of softness, bulk and stiffness for tissue, board and graphic papers. Our eucalyptus-based BHKP is produced at Veracel in Brazil and at Montes del Plata in Uruguay, where fast-growing, sustainably managed plantations deliver consistent fibre quality and high performance for demanding end uses.

Our unbleached kraft pulps

For customers seeking a kraft pulp with lower carbon footprint, our unbleached kraft pulp (UKP) offers the same dependable strength and purity without chemical bleaching.

Its natural tone and robust fiber properties make it ideal for packaging, board and specialty paper applications where sustainability and performance go hand in hand. Produced at our Oulu, Varkaus and Enocell Production Units in Finland, our UKP grades serve customers worldwide.

In addition to the UKP grades produced for board and specialty paper end uses, we also produce our UKP Nova product family at the Enocell Production Unit in Finland. UKP Nova is a low kappa, high purity pulp designed for demanding applications such as food packaging, fiber cement, filtration and electrical insulation.

Responsible fiber sourcing

All Stora Enso kraft pulp grades – bleached and unbleached – come from traceable sources and sustainably managed forests, available with FSC®* and PEFC™ chain-of-custody certification. Full traceability from forest to fiber ensures our customers can produce certified, renewable and eco-labelled products with confidence.

In the Nordics, our production units use birch, pine and spruce from privately owned forests where growth exceeds harvesting. Each harvested area is regenerated, securing the long-term availability of renewable raw material. In Latin America, our eucalyptus plantations are established on degraded land and managed alongside projects that restore natural fauna and flora.

We also engage in shared-value initiatives that support local communities and promote sustainable livelihoods. As a global sustainability leader, Stora Enso continues to set ambitious environmental and social targets, advancing a more circular bioeconomy.

*FSC trademark is C116608. Storaenso Biomaterials PEFC trademark license is PEFC/02-31-298.

FAQ kraft pulps