Metsä Group Says Logistics Solution is Ready for New Kemi Bioproduct Mill

Sept. 6, 2023 - The new logistics solution designed for Metsä Group's bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland, is ready to serve the mill’s transport needs. The solution includes a new logistics road on Sahansaarenkatu leading to the mill site, an electrified private track to the mill and the warehouse in port of Kemi in Ajos.

"The new logistics solution is based on ensuring safety, delivery reliability and quality. Together with our partners, we have built a complete logistics solution to ensure a seamless supply chain from the forest to the mill and from the mill to the customers," says Pasi Pulkkinen, Logistics Director of the Kemi bioproduct mill project.

Two thirds of the new mill’s wood will be transported by rail, using the new private track. The transports are powered by VR’s latest engines. Vectron electric locomotives can handle loads as heavy as 2,500 tonnes, which means approximately 20–25 per cent more wood per train. All in all, more than 400 wagons will be used for the Kemi bioproduct mill’s rail transports, and the fleet is assigned exclusively to these transports. Traffic infrastructure and related improvements have been addressed from the project’s outset, and they have been designed jointly with the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and VR. The mill’s private track enables wood transports with electric locomotives all the way to the mill.

Truck traffic to the mill will use the new Sahansaarenkatu logistics road, the improvements to which have been carried out by the City of Kemi. The private track and the new logistics road have been built so that they do not intersect with other traffic, which will significantly improve traffic safety in the surrounding area.

All exports from the new mill will be concentrated in the port of Ajos in Kemi, where Metsä Fibre has built a new 37 000 m2 product warehouse. In the port warehouse, the pulp bales will be handled by electric forklifts and an electric harbour crane. The transport of pulp from the mill to the port of Ajos is handled by Kuljetusliike Kalevi Huhtala Oy. The loading and unloading of pulp bales into trucks is done automatically with equipment designed for the mill's needs. The specially designed trucks used for the transports are fuelled with biodiesel.

In the harbour, the draught has been increased to 12 metres to allow the use of larger vessels and more efficient sea transport. The draught of the harbour basin is the responsibility of Kemin Satama Oy and the draught of the seaway is the responsibility of the Finnish Transport Agency.

Pasi Pulkkinen, the project's logistics director, praises the cooperation with the partners as really smooth.

"Efficient logistics is one of the basic prerequisites for the mill’s operation. In the logistics solution, we have demanded efficient and low-emission solutions from our partners. Through good cooperation, we have created a highly functional and safe solution, which we will implement together with our selected partners," says Pulkkinen.

About Kemi Bioproduct Mill

The Kemi bioproduct mill will produce some 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts. It will also produce 2.0 TWh of renewable electricity per year, which equals to roughly 2,5 percent of Finnish total electricity production and together with Äänekoski bioproduct mill roughly 5 per cent. The new mill will replace the current pulp mill in Kemi, which has reached the end of its lifespan.

SOURCE:  Metsä Group