UPM plywood mill in Savonlinna was officially opened

Jun 14, 2012. /Lesprom Network/. The extension and the modernization work which began in 2012 at the UPM plywood mill in Savonlinna have been finished. The improved mill was officially opened by the Mayor of Savonlinna, Janne Laine and the Executive Vice President of the UPM Engineered Materials Business Group, Jussi Vanhanen, as the company said in a press release received by Lesprom Network. “The extended and modernized plywood mill in Savonlinna represents modern plywood manufacturing at its best. In accordance with the UPM Biofore vision, environmental efficiency, energy efficiency and occupational safety have remarkably improved. The energy that is needed in manufacture comes almost entirely from renewable energy sources. Also the wood waste of the plywood manufacturing is used for energy production and, thus, the manufacturing does not produce any solid waste”, said Jussi Vanhanen in his inauguration speech. The extension and modernization project, which has now come to an end, was part of the mechanic woodworking reorganization in Finland announced by UPM 2009. The goal of these arrangements has been to improve the long term competitiveness of the plywood business and to raise the value add of the products made in Finland. During the extension and modernization a whole new production hall was built as part of the mill and the majority of the existing manufacturing equipment was modernized and reorganized. The basic infrastructure of the mill was also reformed by widely rebuilding the electricity supply and the heat supply. In addition to the increased production capacity and the improved cost-effectiveness, occupational safety and working conditions have improved significantly.