The Rauma sawmill is a major milestone in the development of Finland’s sawmill industry. With this project, Metsä Fibre is setting a new standard in production efficiency and sawmill automation. This leap in technology is supported by the increased growth of our healthy forests, as well as increasing wood product sales over the last few years and the industry’s excellent future growth outlook. The most important competitive advantages of sawmill products are their renewable raw material, their carbon positive footprint and healthy housing. The growing impact of these factors on consumer choice is a clear and obvious trend in global markets.
For Veisto Oy, it has been very important for our future development to be part of this project. In Rauma’s sawline, we get to introduce our newest technology in a mass production environment. 2022 is a significant year for Veisto Oy. The first generation in our family business was starting to specialise in wood trade a century ago. The company built its first single-blade circular saw with a ten-horsepower steam engine a few years later. Today, Veisto is run by the third and fourth generation, and the HewSaw SL250 5.5 sawline supplied to Rauma uses its 10,000 horsepower to work four circular saw blades simultaneously to complete a cut in only fractions of a second. The current level of technology has been achieved by combining the newest information technology, control technology, and innovative mechanics with Finnish engineering expertise.
The new technology deployed in the Rauma sawmill’s sawline required careful design and project work, carried out in seamless cooperation with Metsä Fibre’s project organisation. The project was many times larger than previous domestic sawmill projects. Metsä Fibre’s solution was to bring in expertise from its bioproduct mill construction team, which had experience of large projects, thus ensuring a successful final result. From our perspective as the machine supplier, it has been an instructive and very positive experience to work with and adapt to Metsä Fibre’s systematic project management. Naturally, there have been some surprises along the way, but new and efficient operating methods have minimized the impact of problems and have allowed us to reach intermediate targets within the original schedule.
The sawline’s installations are now finished, and it is time for work on testing and deployment. Everyone’s hard work will soon be rewarded with pride as we monitor the operations of a shining new sawline.
