VR Transpoint chosen as the logistics partner for roundwood transports to the Kemi bioproduct mill

Metsä Group press release 4 March 2021

Metsä Group has chosen VR Transpoint as the logistics partner for roundwood transports to the bioproduct mill under construction in Kemi. This decision was based on more than two years of strategic cooperation during which an effective and environmentally friendly overall solution was designed for the transports. Annually, five million cubic metres of wood will be transported to the mill by rail, which means that an average of nine trains will arrive at the mill every day.

The number of wood transports by rail will be increasing significantly in Finland from 2023 onwards when the bioproduct mill in Kemi is commissioned. This means annual deliveries of more than five million cubic metres of wood, for which Metsä Group has chosen VR Transpoint as its transport partner. The logistics solution has been fine-tuned in close cooperation already for more than two years.

“We appreciate our long-term partnership with VR Transpoint and offer them a further opportunity to grow by supplying wood to the Kemi bioproduct mill. Railway transports play a significant role in the Kemi bioproduct mill’s wood supply, which requires this new, effective operating model,” says Juha Mäntylä, COO, Metsäliitto Cooperative.

VR Transpoint is enabling a major investment of the forest industry for the second time: Metsä Group chose VR Transpoint as its partner also for the pulp transports of the Äänekoski bioproduct mill in 2016. 

“The efficiency of transports and smooth flow of traffic are key factors when trying to attract major investments such as a bioproduct mill to our country. Finland is located far from the densely populated markets, so we have to catch up with more efficient logistics. We have now managed to create a solution in which the operations of the mill and railway transports are combined seamlessly,” says Martti Koskinen, Senior Vice President at VR Transpoint.

Wood is transported from longer distances but with considerably fewer emissions

Due to the increased use of wood, it must be transported from wider areas, from north and south of Kemi, but these transports are done with considerably fewer emissions.

Although the distance travelled by the wood deliveries increases, emissions are reduced by 20% per cubic metre due to effective railway transports.

In practice, eight to ten trains will arrive at the Kemi bioproduct mill every day. The efficiency of the transport system is based on perfectly fine-tuned wagon rotation: the time between two consecutive loadings, including all the stages, takes only half the time of an average wood transport.

Rolling stock investments enhance delivery reliability

Due to the new contract, VR Transpoint is investing in approximately 200 new roundwood wagons. The bioproduct mill’s railway transports will require a total of more than 400 wagons. The newest electric and diesel locomotives will be used as the tractive stock. The new electric locomotives can handle loads of up to 2,500 tonnes, which means approximately 20–25% more wood per train.

METSÄ GROUP

For further information, please contact:
Juha Laine, Senior Vice President, Communications, Metsä Group, juha.laine@metsagroup.com, tel. +358 10 465 4541

Metsä Group
www.metsagroup.com

Metsä Group leads the way in the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, developing bioproducts 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, and tissue and greaseproof papers.

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

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