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The new state-of-the-art pine sawmill in Rauma in Finland, owned by Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, has moved from production test run to continuous sawn timber production. The sawmill is operating continuously in three shifts.

Construction of the Rauma sawmill started in the spring of 2020, and the value of the investment is approximately EUR 260 million. This is the largest sawmill investment ever in Finland.

“The Rauma sawmill implements Metsä Group’s strategic goals of increasing the value of Finnish forests, growing profitably with our customers, enabling fossil free production and increasing the production of products that store carbon for a long time. The role of the mechanical forest industry is very important for our whole value chain, and I’m happy that new ways to significantly improve performance have been found also there,” says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.

The Rauma sawmill is a worldwide forerunner in technology, efficiency and operating models. Technological innovations such as machine vision, self-learning artificial intelligence and integrated information systems that control the sawline’s various functions provide improved conditions for the production of sawn timber of consistent quality and the sawmill’s industrial efficiency. With the aid of new technology, the Rauma sawmill’s operation is controlled from a single central control room, and sawn timber moves along the converting line without any manual work stages.

“Demand for high-quality, sustainably produced sawn timber is growing worldwide, particularly in demanding component and woodworking industry applications. The new sawing capacity helps us respond to this growth. Sawn timber is an excellent example of a responsible and sustainable product, since the carbon contained in trees is stored in buildings or in various wood products made from sawn timber throughout their life cycle. The sustainability of the sawn timber we produce is based on sustainably managed forests, certified and traceable wood raw material and low-carbon production,” says Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre.

Metsä Group's state of the art sawmill starts in Rauma, FinlandMetsä Group's state of the art sawmill starts in Rauma, Finland

A significant development leap for the whole industry

“The Rauma sawmill represents a significant leap in development for the whole sawmill industry, even from a global perspective, and the development work carried out with equipment suppliers benefits the whole industry. It’s therefore been particularly great that the degree of Finnish origin in the project is high. In Finland, we have high-quality wood raw material, excellent competence and the ability to renew operations,” Nousiainen says.

The new sawmill has directly created 100 new jobs in Rauma. The sawmill also provides work to approximately 500 people across its direct value chain. The sawmill’s employment impact during the construction phase was roughly 1,500 person-years.

The annual capacity of the Rauma sawmill is 750,000 cubic metres of pine sawn timber, and the annual use of pine logs sourced in Finland is around 1.5 million cubic metres. The sawn timber produced in Rauma is sold mainly to Europe and Asia. The sawmill’s location enables smooth logistics to transport the sawn timber to customers through the Port of Rauma. The new sawmill does not have its own warehouses. Instead, finished sawn timber is packaged and automatically loaded onto lorries, which transport it directly to the port.

The new sawmill has been built next to Metsä Fibre’s Rauma pulp mill. “The full utilisation of the wood raw material is central to our unique bioproduct concept. Log wood is used as raw material for the sawmill. The bark and sawdust generated during the production of sawn timber are used for bioenergy and the chips are used as raw material for pulp. Pulp production generates bioenergy for the sawmill, and the surplus energy is sold outside the integrated mill. In the future, this investment will enable both the Rauma sawmill and pulp mill to operate without using any fossil fuels,” says Nousiainen. 

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

Metsä Group’s annual sales amount to approximately EUR 6 billion, and we have around 9,500 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forests: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative which is owned by nearly 100,000 forest owners. 

Published in Green Industry
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Metsä Spring, Metsä Group’s innovation company, has launched a new 3D fibre product called Muoto®. Muoto has been produced at Metsä Group’s and Valmet’s demo plant in Äänekoski since May 2022, and is made of Metsä Group’s wood fibres.

Muoto is a significant initiative in the packaging market. It is user-friendly, sustainable and scalable and features advanced technology. Using brand new technology, the products are pressed into their final form and their properties can be tailored during the production process according to the intended purpose. The raw material of Muoto grows in northern, sustainably managed forests and is fully traceable.

2021 06 03 085752Both renewable and recyclable, Muoto is a good alternative to fossil plastic, for example, in food packaging, including serving dishes or containers of various sizes and shapes. Packaging that is produced to meet a specific need is ideal for reducing food waste.

“Plastic is everywhere. It will continue to have a role in the future, but the growing packaging industry requires a variety of new sustainable alternatives; Muoto is our answer to these needs. This brand new, wood-based packaging has attracted a great deal of interest in our customer base,” says Jarkko Tuominen, Metsä Group’s Project Director.

Muoto has just got off the ground, and now its product features and production method are being further developed and the product’s market potential is being tested. A well-recognised brand plays an important role in this work. If the market interest and the product viability can be proved on a large scale, Metsä Group will consider building a larger production unit. 

Learn more about Muoto online at muoto.io.

Metsä Spring
www.metsaspring.com

Innovation company Metsä Spring invests expertise and financial resources into initiatives with the ambition to reshape the forest-based bioeconomy, aiming to increase the value for Metsä Group’s stakeholders in the long-term.

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

Metsä Group’s annual sales amount to approximately EUR 6 billion, and we have around 9,500 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forests: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative which is owned by nearly 100,000 forest owners. 

Published in Food & Materials
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 The operations at Metsä Group’s and Valmet’s 3D fibre product demo plant in Äänekoski has begun. At the end of 2020, Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring and Valmet announced they would be investing a total of approximately 20 million euros in the demo plant.

The demo plant is part of Metsä Group’s integrated mill site in Äänekoski, and it produces finished 3D fibre packaging products directly from wet pulp without intermediate phases. The moulded fibre-based packaging can replace plastic for example in food packaging. The demo plant currently employs approximately ten people.

“Our fibre-based packaging products are a significant new initiative in the global packaging market. The novelty in our products include their layered structure, which, in turn, allows their production in a raw material and energy efficient manner applying a highly automated production process. The layered structure also allows the products to be easily modified for different purposes. The customers’ reception of the new product has been very positive. We know we’re on the right path,” says Metsä Group’s project lead, VP, Jarkko Tuominen.

3D fibre product3D fibre product

“We are very satisfied with our cooperation with Metsä, and we think the mould casting technology is an excellent prospect as a future packaging solution. This is a good example of Valmet’s capacity for developing new technology, and I’m especially proud of how we’ve been able to make use of our broad process expertise in this project,” says Petri Rasinmäki, VP, Board and Paper Mills Business Unit at Valmet.

The demo plant has started a testing and development phase that will last a few years. The goal of this phase is to prove the competitiveness of the production and of the product in the packaging market. If this goal is achieved, it will be possible to consider building a larger production unit.

The 3D fibre product is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable, and its raw material comes from sustainably managed forests, which are primarily owned by Finnish families. Metsä Group is actively developing new business opportunities and researching new wood-based products that can increase the value of its owner-members’ forests. Moreover, the Äänekoski site is also the home of another demo plant, namely a facility developing a process for the production of the Kuura textile fibre.

Pictures of 3D fibre products and demo plant

Metsä Spring
www.metsaspring.com

Innovation company Metsä Spring invests expertise and financial resources into initiatives with the ambition to reshape the forest-based bioeconomy, aiming to increase the value for Metsä Group’s stakeholders in the long-term.

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

Metsä Group’s annual sales amount to approximately EUR 6 billion, and we have around 9,500 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forests: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative which is owned by nearly 100,000 forest owners. 

Published in Food & Materials
Tagged under

From 2022 onwards, Metsä Group will review the herb-rich forests in forests owned by owner-members and intensify its guidance for the management of herb-rich forests. These measures will supplement the Metsä Group ecological sustainability programme, which was started in 2020 and is implemented in commercial forests.

“Our primary recommendation for herb-rich forests in commercial forests owned by owner-members is nature management and, for the best sites, voluntary conservation. Decisions about forest management are always made by the forest owner”, says Juha Mäntylä, COO of Metsäliitto Cooperative.

The herb-rich forests in commercial forests are usually small, enclosed patches surrounded by heath forests. Since herb-rich forests are among the most fertile forest types, from an individual forest owner’s perspective, a herb-rich forest can also be of significant financial value.

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Recommending nature management means putting an emphasis on management measures that improve biodiversity instead of tree growth in the management of herb-rich forests.

“Although herb-rich forests only constitute 1–2% of Finnish forests by area, approximately 45% of threatened species primarily dwell in herb-rich forests. The biodiversity of forest nature is safeguarded in many ways. When we recommend nature management for herb-rich forests, we direct management measures to the places where they have the greatest impact on biodiversity. Training for our personnel has already begun so that they will be prepared to advise our owner-members in herb-rich forest management”, says Mäntylä.

Metsäliitto Cooperative, the parent company of Metsä Group, is owned by approximately 100,000 Finnish forest owners. They own around 50% of Finland’s privately owned forests.

In 2020, Metsä Group started its ecological sustainability programme, which is implemented in commercial forests. In addition to increasing the carbon sinks of forests, the programme’s goals include safeguarding biodiversity and the improvement of water protection. The new policy for the management of herb-rich forests supplements the measures by which Metsä Group and forest owners are safeguarding the biodiversity of forest nature.

Read more about Metsä Group’s ecological sustainability programme.

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

Metsä Group’s annual sales amount to approximately EUR 5.5 billion, and we have around 9,200 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forests: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative which is owned by 100,000 forest owners. 

Published in Green Industry
Tagged under

Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring Ltd has made an equity investment in Innomost Ltd, a startup converting forest industry side streams into high-value bioactive products. The financing round totals approximately EUR 5 million, consisting of private investments and public financing from Business Finland and  ELY Centre for Central Finland. Metsä Spring is participating in the round with Innovestor Technology Fund and other private investors.

Innomost intends to produce valuable ingredients for the cosmetics and personal care industry, as well as for other industrial applications. Metsä Group has several mills, which may provide birch bark for the production. The company’s present product portfolio includes betulin, suberin, birch charcoal powder and birch bark powder. These ingredients can be used in different cosmetic product categories, including skincare, hair care, body care, decorative cosmetics and oral care. Especially betulin and suberin have also other potential industrial uses. The Finnish skincare brand Lumene has launched a couple of cleansing products with Innomost ingredients.

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“We are excited to support Innomost on its path to commercial success. The link to Metsä Group’s business ecosystem is strong, because our industrial side stream, birch bark, is used as the raw material in making the Innomost products. Resource-wise use of wood has always been in the focus of Metsä Group’s development activities. By collaborating with startups, such as Innomost, circular economy can be taken to a new level,” says Erik Kolehmainen, VP, Corporate Venturing at Metsä Spring and new Board member of Innomost.

“It is our privilege to work with a great forest industry company like Metsä Group. The partnership affects us dramatically in a positive way. We have now a solid partner that gives us reliability and supports our long term plans. Additionally, we have secured our raw material supply with Metsä Group. There is no limit, only our imagination, what we can do together from these side streams. I am looking forward to collaborating and introducing our sustainable products to customers”, says Sami Selkälä, CEO at Innomost.

Metsä Spring was established in May 2018 with the aim of strengthening Metsä Group’s business ecosystem in the long run. Innomost is the sixth project in Metsä Spring’s portfolio. Other projects include equity investments in startups Woodio Ltd and Montinutra Ltd, the ExpandFibre collaboration with Fortum, as well as the in-house projects developing textile fibres and 3D packaging products from wood pulp.

Metsä Spring
www.metsaspring.com

Innovation company Metsä Spring invests expertise and financial resources into initiatives with the ambition to reshape the forest-based bioeconomy, aiming to increase the value for Metsä Group’s stakeholders in the long-term.

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

Metsä Group’s annual sales amount to approximately EUR 5.5 billion, and we have around 9,200 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forests: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative which is owned by 100,000 forest owners. 

Innomost 
www.innomost.com
Innomost is a Finnish start-up founded in 2016 that develops and produces high quality and renewable cosmetic ingredients from wooden side streams. Our valuable bio-based products are suitable for a wide range of sustainable chemical industry innovations.

Published in Chemicals
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 Metsä Group has started a planning process with the City of Äänekoski with the aim of expanding the production of mechanical wood products at the Äänekoski mill site in the future.

2021 06 03 085752A detailed plan is being applied for as an industrial area for the Henttalanmäki area south of the existing mill site. The area currently has a general plan in force and it is mainly owned by Metsä Fibre, a part of Metsä Group.

“One of Metsä Group's strategic targets is to increase the production of products that store carbon for a long time such as sawn timber, LVL and plywood. With the plan change that is now being launched, we are preparing to expand the production of our mechanical wood products at the Äänekoski mill site. The synergy benefits of operating in a large mill integrate are significant related e.g. to the utilization of raw materials, logistics and energy, ”says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.

 The planning process is estimated to last until early 2022.

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group is leading the way in advancing the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, as well as tissue and greaseproof papers.

Metsä Group’s annual sales amount to approximately EUR 5.5 billion, and we have around 9,200 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forests: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative which is owned by 100,000 forest owners. 

Published in Materials
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