Finland-based wood processing company Koskisen will carry out an investment in Kärkölä, Finland worth €48 million, with production scheduled to start up in summer 2023. The new unit’s annual production will initially be 400,000m3 of softwood sawn timber. The investment is a continuation of the further processing capacity expansion carried out in 2020 and the power plant investment in which heat production was converted entirely to biofuel.
The investment will increase the company’s annual net sales by tens of millions of euros, a significant share of which will come from export revenues. The business growth will support well-being in the Päijät-Häme region in Finland through salaries, stumpage revenues and the use of various contracting services. The employment impact during the construction phase is estimated at approximately 70 person-years.
“This investment is the largest in the company’s history and extremely significant strategically speaking. The new production line, coupled with our major processing capacity, makes Koskisen’s sawn timber industry one of the most competitive players in its field, with one of the highest degrees of further processing,” said Jukka Pahta, CEO of Koskisen Group.
He added: “The use of renewable materials, especially wood, is expected to increase significantly in the future. Responsibly managed Nordic forests and wood products made with the environment and effective use of raw materials in mind offer solutions for sustainable development. With this investment, we secure our place as a driver of this development towards carbon neutrality.”
The starting point for Koskisen’s integrated mechanical wood processing operations in Järvelä, a city in Kärkölä, is high eco-efficiency and the highest possible utilisation of the wood material. The investment project will involve moving the sawmilling operations from the centre of Järvelä to the sawn timber finishing and further processing operations, 4km away from the current location. This will create synergies in production, and significantly reduce the emissions from the sawmill’s internal logistics.
