The Finnish company has been chosen as the multi-year logistics partner for the under-construction sawmill at Laanila in Oulu, with goods to be exported via the Port of Oulu.

The contract - which will be executed alongside Adolf Lahti, another company from the KWH Logistics family - includes logistics operations at the sawmill, transports from it to the lumber dock, and all port services.

To make the operations environmentally friendly, Rauanheimo and Adolf Lahti will purchase electric forklifts to process the goods at the sawmill, while a hybrid Mantsinen of the 200 DER model will be employed in the Port of Oulu (which electrified the dock in question).

The €75m investment will come online in December 2023. The 350k m3 of yearly production capacity facility will create 70 direct jobs in Oulu (200 in total).

"We were looking for a partner with know-how and ability to manage the sawmill's product logistics as a whole, from the end of the production line to international transports. By choosing Rauanheimo, we now also have the service and competence potential of KWH Logistics in Oulu and throughout Finland at our disposal. Rauanheimo's desire to develop sawn timber logistics in a customer-oriented and cost-effective manner played an important role in our selection," Kalle Junnikkala, CEO of Junnikkala, commented.

Päivi Laajala, Mayor of Oulu, said about Junnikkala's project, "The new sawmill will provide much-needed industrial jobs throughout the region, and a lot of work for forest machinery- and transportation contractors, both in timber harvesting and transportation. Traffic at the Port of Oulu will also increase with the investment."

Pertti Vanhala, Oulun Energia's Business Director, also highlighted, "The renewable bioenergy production of the sawmill surpasses its own needs and contributes to the replacement of peat with the sawmill's renewable by-products in Oulun Energia's electricity and heat production. This is a big leap towards carbon-neutral energy production."

Photo: Rauanheimo