The person responsible for recruitments for the Pärnu mill is Merite Liidemaa-Pärn, HR Manager. The mill will employ a total of approximately 200 people, of which some ten are white-collars. Metsä Wood's partner in recruiting blue-collar workers is Manpower, and Tammiste Personalibüroo for white-collars. The Estonian Employment Office is also strongly involved in the search for new production operators.
"We have had two forklift drivers already at work since the beginning of January. The site has been busy with the contractors and equipment vendors working there simultaneously. Our own drivers have been unloading the incoming trucks, and at the peak there have been up to ten trucks per day," says Liidemaa-Pärn.
"The white-collar team for the mill is already pretty well in place. In addition to the mill director and HR manager, the Pärnu organization consists of a development manager, production manager, assistant controller, production manager and two production supervisors. A quality engineer has also been appointed, and he will start working at the same time as the first production workers. "
Extensive induction prepares the workers for safe operation
"When a new mill starts up, we invest heavily in employee induction,” emphasizes Liidemaa-Pärn. “All employees go through theoretical and practical training on plywood production, including careful safety training. Our training leader is Enn Kull, Development Manager, who has years of experience in training workers in the plywood industry."
Personnel from Metsä Wood's Finnish plywood mills will go to Pärnu to assist the production ramp-up. This ensures the transfer of competence and the safe start-up of the mill. A total of 11 production operators will arrive in three rounds in February and March. Test runs of the first machines take place in February.
"Recruitment is a great challenge for me! Workers get to work in a brand-new factory, and work on machines and devices that represent the latest and the best technology. In Metsä Wood's work culture, safety is the starting point. It is great to be able to tell the applicants that this is an employer who genuinely cares about its employees and keeps its promises. This I can say based on my own experience, "she says.
Metsä Wood's plywood mill in Pärnu manufactures birch plywood from veneers made in Äänekoski, in Central Finland. The veneer mill is also new; it starts test production in mid-February. Production at the Pärnu mill is scheduled to start in the second half of 2018.