Forest industry in Finland

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StoraEnso paper mill, Kemi, Veitsiluoto StoraEnso Kemi Veitsiluoto 20090608.JPG
StoraEnso paper mill, Kemi, Veitsiluoto
Tukkilautta (Log Raft), by Albert Edelfelt (1886). In the collection of the Finnish National Gallery. Albert Edelfelt - Log Raft - A IV 2825 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg
Tukkilautta (Log Raft), by Albert Edelfelt (1886). In the collection of the Finnish National Gallery.

Forest industry in Finland consists of mechanical (timber) and chemical (paper and pulp) forest industry. Finland is one of the world's largest producer of pulp, paper and cardboard and one of Europe's largest producers of sawn timber. The forest industry directly and indirectly employs approximately 160,000 people in Finland. The industry's multiplier effects extend broadly into surrounding society. [1]

Log driving had begun by the 17th century in Finland (tukinuitto) with long rivers such as Oulujoki, Iijoki and Kemijoki being used. The total length of timber-floating routes in Finland was 40,000 km. [2] Given the economic importance of the activity, the Finnish water act states that "unless otherwise provided by law, everyone has the right, without inflicting unnecessary damage, harm or disturbance, to… float timber in the water body…". A log driver competitions is still organised in Finland annually - the Tukkilaiskisat. [2]

In 2014 the value of production of forest industry in Finland, including furniture industry, was 20.7 billion euros. This was 18% of all industrial production. Forest industry employed 15% of industrial workers in Finland. The forest industry is the main source of income for many regions in Finland. It accounts for approximately 20 per cent of all Finnish exports. [3]

Chemical forest industry (also known as paper and pulp industry) produces paper, cardboard and pulp. Finland has 25 paper mills, 14 cardboard mills and 15 pulp mills. In 2014 they employed 22 000 people. [4]

Mechanical forest industry produces wooden items mechanically: sawing, turning and glueing. Sawmills are the largest employer of the sector. Sawmills and board production are highly automatised, but manual skills are still needed in carpentry. Mechanical forest industry employs 26 000 people in Finland. In addition 9000 have a job in furniture production. [5] There are also about 130 industrial sawmills as well as other companies in the wood products industry. [3]

The largest companies are Stora Enso, UPM-Kymmene and Metsä Board. In 2005-2015 they had to jettison almost half of their employees as the paper production was declining. The companies search new growth in packaging materials and wood-based chemicals. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logging</span> Process of cutting, processing, and moving trees

Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used narrowly to describe the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage, however, the term may cover a range of forestry or silviculture activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulp (paper)</span> Fibrous material used notably in papermaking

Pulp is a fibrous lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically or mechanically producing cellulosic fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemicals or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw material used in papermaking and the industrial production of other paper products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper engineering</span>

Paper engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the usage of physical science and life sciences in conjunction with mathematics as applied to the converting of raw materials into useful paper products and co-products. The field applies various principles in process engineering and unit operations to the manufacture of paper, chemicals, energy and related materials. The following timeline shows some of the key steps in the development of the science of chemical and bioprocess engineering:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UPM (company)</span> Finnish forest industry company

UPM-Kymmene Oyj is a Finnish forest industry company. UPM-Kymmene was formed by the merger of Kymmene Corporation with Repola Oy and its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd in 1996. UPM consists of six business areas: UPM Fibres, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Communication Papers and UPM Plywood. The Group employs around 17,000 people and it has production plants in 11 countries. UPM shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki stock exchange. UPM is the only paper company which is listed in the global Dow Jones Sustainability Index and also a member of the United Nations Global Compact organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulp and paper industry</span> Industry involved in the manufacture of paper and paperboard

The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCA (company)</span> Swedish timber, pulp and paper manufacturer

Svenska Cellulosa AB is a Swedish timber, pulp and paper manufacturer with headquarters in Sundsvall. It has approximately 3,300 employees and a turnover of approximately SEK 20.8 billion. Its main products include many one-use paper products, containerboard, solid-wood products, pulp and forest-based biofuel. SCA is Europe's largest private owner of forest land, with 2.7 million hectares. The global hygiene product company Essity was part of SCA until 2017.

The pulp and paper industry in Europe accounts for about a quarter of world production and is a major employer. The leading producing countries are Finland, Sweden and Germany. The industry is a large user of renewable energy and achieved a recycling rate of 71.5% in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulpwood</span> Timber intended for processing into wood pulp for paper production

Pulpwood can be defined as timber that is ground and processed into a fibrous pulp. It is a versatile natural resource commonly used for paper-making but also made into low-grade wood and used for chips, energy, pellets, and engineered products.

Holmen AB is a Swedish company which bases its business in the forest industry and the pulp and paper industry. Holmen's main products are paperboard for consumer packaging and graphical applications. Printing paper for magazines, supplements, direct mail, directories, books and newspapers. They also produce sawn timber for flooring, window components, furniture or construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper recycling</span> Process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products

The recycling of paper is the process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products. It has a number of important benefits: It saves waste paper from occupying homes of people and producing methane as it breaks down. Because paper fibre contains carbon, recycling keeps the carbon locked up for longer and out of the atmosphere. Around two-thirds of all paper products in the US are now recovered and recycled, although it does not all become new paper. After repeated processing the fibres become too short for the production of new paper, which is why virgin fibre is frequently added to the pulp recipe.

Norske Skog Saugbrugs AS is a pulp mill and paper mill located in Halden, Norway, which produces supercalender (SC) magazine paper. Located in the river Tista in Tistedalen, the mill produces 550,000 tonnes per year in three paper machines. Pulp is produced both from virgin fibers at an on-site thermomechanical pulp (TMP) mill. Part of Norske Skog, it is the sole remaining magazine mill in Norway.

The Russian forestry industry is a set of Russian industries related to wood harvesting and processing. As one of the oldest sectors in the country's economy, Russia's timber industry continues to bring in about $20 billion per year. Russia has more than a fifth of the world's forests, making it the largest forest country in the world. According to data for 2015, the total forest area has exceeded 885 million hectares, representing 45% of the total area of the country. The stock of wood in the area was 82 billion cubic meters. However in 2023 academics complained that not enough information had been published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental effects of paper</span> Overview about the environmental effects of the paper production industry

The environmental effects of paper are significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels. With the use of modern technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of wood, disposable paper became a relatively cheap commodity, which led to a high level of consumption and waste. The rise in global environmental issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, overflowing landfills and clearcutting have all lead to increased government regulations. There is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and paper industry as it moves to reduce clear cutting, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and clean up its influence on local water supplies and air pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HS Timber Group</span>

HS Timber Group is an Austrian-based company operating in the wood processing industry, lumber trading and bioenergy production. It is one of the leading woodworking business in Europe and employs more than 2,700 people in its headquarters and seven global production units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd</span>

Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd is a forest products company based at Whirinaki, near Napier, New Zealand. The company includes forestry operations, manufacturing and sales of wood pulp and lumber products, employing approximately 360 staff. Originally majority-owned by a New Zealand company and producing mechanical pulp, it is now wholly owned by a Japanese company and producing thermo-mechanical pulp.

Lumber and wood products, including timber for framing, plywood, and woodworking, are created in the wood industry from the trunks and branches of trees through several processes, commencing with the selection of appropriate logging sites and concluding with the milling and treatment processes of the harvested material. In order to determine which logging sites and milling sites are responsibly producing environmental, social and economic benefits, they must be certified under the Forests For All Forever (FCS) Certification that ensures these qualities.

The wood industry or timber industry is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products and secondary products like wood pulp for the pulp and paper industry. Some of the largest producers are also among the biggest owners of timberland. The wood industry has historically been and continues to be an important sector in many economies.

Industry in Finland is the second largest sector of Economy of Finland after the service sector. The production of different branches was in 2013 as follows:

The Sitka Pulp Mill was a pulp mill located on the North and West Shores of Sawmill Cove, approximately five miles East of Sitka, Alaska. In 1956, the mill site was purchased from Freda and John Van Horn by the Alaska Pulp Corporation. This was the first Japanese investment in the United States of America since World War II, and the mill operated from 1959 until 1993. The majority of production was used to create rayon fabric, and to supply Japan with logs to rebuild homes and infrastructure after World War II. In the later years of the mill, as the demand for rayon and logs for rebuilding decreased, the primary focus of the mill became the manufacture of paper.

Mechanical pulping is the process in which wood is separated or defibrated mechanically into pulp for the paper industry.

References

  1. "Metsäteollisuus tutuksi nuorille Tutustu työelämään ja tienaa -kesäharjoitteluohjelmalla" (in Finnish). STT. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  2. 1 2 Kari, Serafia (September 2019). "Taming the rivers: log driving in Sweden and Finland". Europeana (CC By-SA). Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  3. 1 2 "The Finnish forest industry in figures". Metsäteollisuus ry. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  4. "Kemiallinen metsäteollisuus" (in Finnish). Ammattinetti. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  5. "Puutuoteteollisuus" (in Finnish). Ammattinetti. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  6. "Suomalaiset metsäyhtiöt ovat onnistuneet haastavassa markkinatilanteessa" (in Finnish). Nordea. Retrieved 2015-10-17.
  7. "Finnish Papermakers Embrace Online World as Slump Ends". Bloomberg. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-10-19.