Harri Haapaniemi, Project Director of Metsä Fibre's Rauma sawmill project, is pleased with the progress of the work on the construction site.
"The project has progressed on schedule and according to plan. The excavation work is nearing its end. Channels for cables and pipes will be constructed during the summer. Then the foundations will be laid, beginning with the drying plant, which is the largest single site at the sawmill."
The construction is progressing at a good speed.
"Buildings will begin to rise in late autumn 2020. The first equipment will be installed during the first half of 2021. By summer 2022, the buildings and production lines, as well as the process, will have reached a point where we can start test runs for the entire plant," Haapaniemi explains.
Preparations for construction of Rauma sawmill begin
In addition to construction work, planning work will be carried out actively in the summer and autumn.
The equipment suppliers are finalising the construction drawings to ensure that AFRY, the design partner, will be able to complete the final layout of the sawmill. A-Insinöörit, the construction consultant for the sawmill, is preparing to begin construction.
"In summary, we are starting to prepare for future construction. Special attention will be paid to safety and eliminating the shadow economy from the project," Haapaniemi points out.
In October, the entire project organisation will move to Rauma, and the main implementing party, Skanska, will begin its work.
The area of the sawmill construction site covers 20 hectares.
"The sawmill will be compact, as it doesn't need a separate power plant or sawn timber storage facilities. The public infrastructure doesn't need to be changed. Transport arrangements will only be made within the integrated mill."
Agreements on the Rauma sawmill have been signed with the main equipment suppliers
During May and June, Metsä Fibre signed agreements with all the main equipment suppliers.
"The Rauma sawmill is a significant leap forward for the whole industry. The Rauma sawmill will use solutions with new types of efficiency and layout that require first-rate performance capacity from the equipment. Machine vision and smart control will be used extensively," says Haapaniemi.
The sawline, with a speed of more than 200 metres per minute, will be delivered by Veisto Oy. The log sorting and the feed and bark processing equipment will be supplied by Nordautomation Oy.
The two green sorting lines, as well as the sticking and stacking line, will be delivered by Renholmen AB. The dry sorting and packaging equipment will be supplied by C. Gunnarssons Verkstads AB. The speed on all processing and sorting lines is more than 200 pieces per minute.
The drying plant equipment will be delivered by Heinolan Sahakoneet Oy. All load transfers in the drying area will be fully automated. The sorting cameras for the sawmill will be delivered by FinnScan, the debarkers by Valon Kone, and the by-product processing equipment by Raumaster.
Rauma sawmill in figures:
- Degree of Finnish origin of equipment procurement: 70%
- Employment impact of the sawmill during construction: 1,500 man-days
- The sawmill will employ 100 people (new jobs)
- Employment impact within the direct value chain: 500 people (new jobs)
- Total value of the investment: around EUR 200 million
- The sawmill will produce 750,000 cubic metres of pine sawn timber per year