Metsä Fibre Invests in 'World's Most Modern Sawmill' in Rauma
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Production at the sawmill is set to begin during the third quarter of 2022. The pre-engineering phase of the Kemi bioproduct mill continues, and Metsä Group expects to be ready to make a decision on this approximately EUR 1.5 billion mill in the autumn of 2020.
Metsä Group started the pre-engineering of investments totaling approximately EUR 2 billion in the spring of 2019. With the planned investments, Metsä Group meets the needs of forest owners and its customers even better than before across the entire forest industry value chain. As planned, the Rauma sawmill investment was the first of the program’s projects to reach the decision-making stage.
“Metsä Group’s strategic goals include increasing the value of Finnish forests, profitable growth together with customers, completely fossil-free mills, replacing the fossil-based economy with renewable materials and increasing carbon stored in long-life wood products. The sawmill to be constructed in Rauma will contribute to the realization of all these goals. The role of the mechanical forest industry is very important and we need to find ways to significantly improve its performance,” says Ilkka Hämälä,
President and CEO of Metsä Group. “The pre-engineering of Kemi bioproduct mill has progressed well and we expect to reach the decision-making stage in the autumn of 2020, as the environmental permit process is finalized. In this challenging situation faced by the society, what Finland needs now is investments and faith in the future. We estimate that the role of Finnish suppliers will be significant in implementing these investments.”
The value of the Rauma sawmill investment is approximately EUR 200 million, and the new unit will produce around 750,000 cubic meters of pine sawn timber a year. The new sawmill will be a worldwide forerunner in technology and efficiency. For example, using machine vision and artificial intelligence in different stages of the sawing process is a significant new development. Similar technology is not yet in use anywhere in the sawmill industry.
“The next-generation sawmill to be constructed in Rauma is a significant leap forward for the whole industry. The new technology allows for the transition from workstations to control room monitoring and continuous operation. The key elements of the Rauma sawmill’s operating model include employees’ in-depth expertise and multiple skills as well as user maintenance,” says Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre. “The demand for high-quality sawn timber will increase globally, especially in the demanding component and woodworking industries.”
The annual use of logs sourced in Finland is estimated to be around 1.5 million cubic meters. Sawn timber produced by the Rauma sawmill will be sold mainly to Europe and Asia. The location of the new sawmill is logistically excellent as it enables efficient integration into the pulp mill and smooth sawn timber logistics for customers through the Port of Rauma. The synergies between the integrated mill and the pulp mill will be used in power generation, side-stream utilization, logistics and services. The environmental impact of the sawmill will be minimized, and noise management, for example, has been taken into consideration starting from the design phase, both in construction and in the selection of equipment and machinery.
