Metsä Fibre is an active player in Rauma and the entire Satakunta region.
The Rauma pulp mill celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021, and production of the world's most modern sawmill started in autumn 2022. Cooperation and communication with local stakeholders and operators has been an important part of Metsä Fibre's activities in Rauma throughout the years.
Mill manager, Jaakko Ikonen from the Rauma pulp mill, values interaction with people living in the surrounding area. For example, in 2019, an event was organised at Rauma market square to inform people about the planned sawmill project. Since then, Metsä Fibre has organised gatherings in the neighbourhood and invited local people to visit the construction site. In May 2024, the Rauma mill integrate organised an open house event that attracted 2,000 visitors.
"Close cooperation with society, especially the local community, is of utmost importance to us. We are committed to actively communicating our responsible practices and demonstrating how we transform wood from northern forests into high-quality products, pulp and sawn timber, in accordance with sustainable development principles," says Ikonen.
A forest for all ages
Visits to the mill by schoolchildren and other educational institutions represent a long-term regional cooperation. Since the pandemic years, groups of students from universities and universities of applied sciences have again been welcomed to both the pulp mill and the sawmill.
There is also a desire to support the vibrant cultural activities of the community. For example, the Rauma School of Fine Arts created a 30-metre-long rock painting called Forest Parade in the pulp mill parking lot in 2011, which has since delighted mill employees and visitors.
The kindergartens, for their part, have held a joint art exhibition in which children created forest-themed works for the pulp mills. For primary and secondary school pupils, there have been competitions such as birdhouse and writing competitions.
The idea behind this was that children and young people should already have some kind of relationship with the forest industry. At the same time, the aim has been to familiarise young people with pulp and timber as raw materials.
Plenty of activities for local people
For several summers, the pulp mill has been the venue for Nature Close to Town train tours for residents and tourists. They provided an opportunity to get to know the mill and its surroundings. A hundred species of birds and several species of animals have been described in the vicinity of the mill.
In addition, Metsä Group’s Wood Supply has, over the years, been involved in organising an exhibition and a theme lecture with a bird association, a brush cutter course with the local adult education centre and a week-long geocaching event with a girls’ baseball team.
Special days for group visits throughout the year
The pulp mill and sawmill have welcomed many other groups of visitors each year, such as forest owners and associations.
Rauma sawmill and Rauma mill integrate have visiting days during which they welcome 1-2 visiting groups. The tours are different from one to the other. On the Rauma sawmill tour, the group can get to know the sawmill production by touring the sawmill by bus and by walking on the sawmill line.
"Sawmill visits are an important part of our stakeholder activities. By focusing the visits on specific days that are convenient for sawmill production and maintenance, we can serve the visitors in the best possible way," says sawmill manager Johanna Harjula.
On the guided bus tour of Rauma mill integrate, groups will see the production at both pulp mill and sawmill and will be guided around the extensive mill integrate.
Requests for tours are made via a handy online form, requests for visits are processed several times a year and each requestor is contacted.
The shared wastewater treatment plant benefits everyone
One example of good cooperation in Rauma is the forest industry’s common wastewater treatment plant. It is used by Metsä Fibre’s pulp mill and the UPM paper mill next to it. In addition to the forest companies' wastewater, the wastewater from the city of Rauma is also directed to the treatment plant.
“Approximately 20 years ago, we made an agreement with the City to direct its wastewater to the shared treatment plant. The arrangement benefits all parties. At the same time, overall emissions into the waterways have decreased,” says Ikonen.
The wastewater treatment plant, which has been operational for a long time, is owned by Metsä Fibre and operated by UPM.
The City supports commercial and industrial life significantly
Ikonen thanks the City of Rauma for its good cooperation with business community. For example, the City has supported Metsä Fibre in a sawmill project, which was prepared for a long time in cooperation.
“The City has shown an exemplary commitment to supporting the business community. The City actively monitors businesses’ needs and reacts accordingly. There is also an active chamber of commerce in the region, and it genuinely wants to develop commerce and industry in the region.”