World of timber
TOWARDS FOSSIL-FREE WRAPPINGS FOR SAWN TIMBER One of Metsä Fibre’s sustainable development goals is to switch from using plastic wrappers on sawn timber to fossil-free wrapping materials. “The goal is that by mid-decade, wrappings made from fossil-free raw materials will already be used widely,” says Tuomas Arminen , Development Manager at Metsä Fibre. The wrapping materials of the future may be fibre-based or bioplastics, or combinations of the two. “We have studied possible development paths. As we see it, the wrappings of the future will be fibre-based. In the early stages, plastics made from tall oil, for example, may also be used as wrapping materials,” Arminen says. Developing fossil-free wrapping materials from com- pletely new materials is a daunting task. The wrapping must protect products from dirt, mois- ture and ultraviolet light, and also be able to withstand mechanical stresses, protecting the products from damage during transportation. The wrappings must also have a surface that prevents the bundles of wood from sliding around and allows walking on them also in slippery con- ditions. “It is a big challenge, but we want to be pioneers in fos- sil-free innovations and be able to develop well-function- ing solutions quickly. We are already engaged in collabo- ration with suppliers of packaging materials.” Metsä Group’s sustainable development goals state that all of the group’s mills must be fossil-free by 2030. This goal also applies to products' packaging material just as much as to the products themselves.
POSITIVE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK High-quality products and reliable operations were repeatedly cited as successes in Metsä Fibre’s lat- est customer satisfaction survey, which indicates that customers view Metsä’s high-quality products and reliable operations as our biggest successes. “We received a lot of good feedback. I think that we have been successful in building and devel- oping our services and operations,” says Saku Pänkäläinen , VP for Timber Sales at Metsä Fibre. Metsä’s reliable operations were especially well received: “Our customers know that we do what we promise. We keep our promises, even if the mar- ket changes. In general, the entire Metsä brand has a good reputation.” This year, there was even more feedback than previously, as customers were able to provide their own free-form comments. “Our customers were open about what aspects of our operations they appreciated, but they also gave us feedback on areas that we can develop further.”
SHIPPING CODES INDICATE THE SPECIES AND PROPERTIES OF SAWN TIMBER Metsä has replaced the ship- ping codes stamped on sawn timber with Metsä symbols and a mark showing the quality category of the wood. Sawn timber is classified into various grades based on its technical and visual proper- ties. For spruce sawn timber, the base colour of the logo is green, while it is red for pine sawn timber. The new stamps also tell the customer who manufactured the sawn timber.
WOOD TECHNOLOGY GROUP OPENS DOORS TO THE FUTURE Metsä Group’s wood technology team, part of the research and development operations, is seeking new ways to utilise wood raw material in mechanical forest industry products. Its other roles include monitoring, promoting and coordinating the group’s external research into wood technology. “We want to use our wood raw material as effectively as possible. We also strive to rapidly evaluate innovative technologies and concepts and to utilise them in the actual manufacture of products at Metsä Group,” explains Raili Koponen , Development Manager at Metsä Fibre. The wood technology team has three main focus areas: wood raw material and any changes in its quality or availability; sustainable development and the use of wood in construction; and identifying future skills needs. The team has experts from Metsä Fibre, Metsä Forest and Metsä Wood. “In my opinion, the internal network at Metsä Group is vital. When we have our own knowledge, we can share information, learn from others and make progress with projects faster than we could before. We can also test different solutions ourselves.” The team also maintains an extensive external network, mainly comprising educational institutions and wood technology companies. “We want the operators in our industry to be able to find each other in a way that creates the best possible combined expertise,” Koponen says. One of the current projects, related to the sawmill being built in Rauma, has the working title ‘New Opportunities in Pine’. “The aim of the project is to identify new ways of working and new prod- uct opportunities in pine. Our wood supply and manufacturing processes are optimised so that we can use the most valuable parts of pine in new ways, but we need to find uses for every part of the trunk. The whole picture has to fit together.”
STANDARDISED PRODUCT NAMES
The Metsä brand has become more prominent in all sawn timber products and services. Part of this change involved changing the product names. “We have made our product names clearer and brought all our sawn timber products under the unified Metsä brand. This will also help us serve our customers better,” says Ari Harmaala , Metsä Fibre’s SVP for Sales and Customership.
SAWN TIMBER WRAPPINGS TO MATCH THE NEW BRAND LOOK
The “Nordic Timber” logo previously printed on the protective plastic packaging has been replaced with “Metsä” printed in black, with the elk logo in green and a forest pattern depicting Finnish nature. Packages of sawn timber from Metsä Fibre’s sawmills are most often finished with a hood or wrap that protects them from dust, dirt and water during transportation and intermediate storage.
Tall oil may become a raw material for new wrappings.
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