Metsä Wood considers €30m mill investment

Metsä Wood is considering a €30m upgrade at the Vilppula sawmill.

The planned investment for 2013 includes building a new sawmill line and a new green sorting line, plus renovating other mill areas.

The new sawmill line, replacing two existing lines, would enable the use of diverse sawing patterns and efficient use of both small and large logs. It would “significantly” improve production efficiency.

“The investment project would enable us to offer more highly processed products that are customised precisely to customers’ needs, based on their product ranges and production processes,” said Timo Karinen, group executive vice-president Metsä Wood.

He said the investment would help serve demanding industrial customers.

However, mill staff levels could decrease by 40 and a final decision will not be made until labour negotiations are completed.??

The Vilppula sawmill has an annual capacity of about 450,000m³.