The wood products company Koskisen will continue to develop Sawmill Industry's production and has decided to invest in an eight-hectare log yard in connection with the new sawmill in Järvelä. The investment includes a log sorting yard and line with control rooms, as well as a stormwater treatment system. In addition, a new access route to the factory area, a gate environment, access control and a vehicle scale will be built.
The value of the investment is approximately EUR 15 million and the majority of it will be allocated to 2024. The new log yard and related operations are expected to be completed at the beginning of 2025.
"The investment supports Sawmill Industry's growth strategy by making sawn production more efficient and improving its productivity significantly. Once the log field is completed, the sawmill industry's operations will be located on one site, which will enable the development of the new sawmill into the most competitive entity in Finland. The log sorting line includes the latest measurement technology and a larger sorting capacity than before. These will further improve the quality and quantity yield of the raw material", says CEO Jukka Pahta.
Today, logs are sorted in the Koskisen Tehdastie industrial area and transported by trucks to a sawmill about four kilometres away on Mäntsäläntie. The new log yard will significantly reduce transport costs and the carbon footprint of transports.
Production at Koskisen's new sawmill in Järvelä started in July 2023. Production is currently being ramped up gradually and the full operating rate will be reached in early 2024. The productivity of the sawing process is expected to increase by 40 percent due to increased automation, higher production capacity and material yield. At the first stage, the new sawmill will increase the production capacity from the current 300,000 cubic metres to 400,000 cubic metres of softwood sawn timber.