Production

We reduce our environmental impact by using the latest technology and the development of the production process, which enables us to make more end products – Kerto® LVL (laminated veneer lumber), birch plywood and spruce plywood products – from smaller amounts of raw material.

Efficient use of side streams

All raw materials used in production are used efficiently, and we are making efforts to further improve resource efficiency. Production side streams are considered valuable raw materials for new products and for renewable energy production. Currently, we utilise 96% of production side streams. Side products like sawdust, wood chips and planer shavings are sold to the pulp and paper industry. Bark from round wood debarking is used to produce renewable energy for our own and for the community’s use.

Production of renewable energy exceeds our own use

Metsä Wood mills fulfil the requirements of the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 quality standards. At our Finnish mills, we produce renewable energy at onsite power plants. These power plants utilise the production side streams and produce renewable energy that covers 98% of the energy used in our production processes. All the excess renewable energy is sold to the grid in the form of district heat to local communities and electricity. Fossil fuels are only used for example in power plant start-up.

Sustainable use of water

Metsä Wood Kerto LVL and plywood mills are located in Northern Europe, which is one of the world’s most water-rich regions. The company does not source any water from areas with high or extremely high water stress (WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas). All the process water used in Kerto LVL, plywood and veneer production is taken from surface waters. Our operations do not prevent or weaken any other parties’ access to water, for example agriculture. Metsä Wood mills in UK do not use any process water.

Nevertheless, we are continuously seeking new ways to minimise the use of fresh water in our processes – for example, by recycling our process waters effectively and by using the best available technology. In addition, recycled process water is used to recover the heat created in the production process. This minimises our wastewater and air emissions and saves energy, thereby reducing impacts on the climate. 

Metsä Wood has also launched a project to monitor the water balance of mills to find new ways to reuse and recycle water.

Using water resources responsibly and efficiently

Metsä Wood uses water for soaking logs, cooling process machinery, adhesive preparation and to create steam for thermal energy production. 

Soaking in warm water is a pre-treatment for logs before the peeling process. It ensures high veneer quality with good surface properties. High-quality veneers are essential to achieve the end product’s high bonding quality and good surface properties. In addition, the soaking ensures high yield and thus enables resource-efficient raw material use. Soaking water is heated by the recovered heat from the production process and power plant. 

Process water is circulated in the production process as long as possible. After use, the process water is cleaned thoroughly before it is returned to nature.