“The significance of new products to the industry’s revenue is almost negligible.” Bulk products are starting to come from China, latters (latches/laters), etc.
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Good write-up from Metsä Group’s CEO (tj = toimitusjohtaja)
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New change negotiations will begin again at the Joutseno pulp mill this week. Metsä Fibre announced that the entire personnel of the Joutseno pulp mill are within the scope of the negotiations concerning potential layoffs. The personnel consists of approximately 160 people.
– The situation in the pulp market remains challenging. Due to demand prospects and the wood market situation, we must prepare to adjust pulp production for longer than previously estimated, says CEO Ismo Nousiainen in Metsä Fibre’s press release.
– Therefore, we are now forced to start new change negotiations regarding potential layoffs in Joutseno, he says.
Edit:
The world’s largest single-line softwood pulp mill, the fourth largest in Finland. And located on the coast.
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We are looking forward to seeing if the Joutseno pulp mill will even start up by mid-winter. Just like last year, presumably to avoid equipment breakdowns. If not, the whole thing is pretty much wrapped up. You’d think the workers there would also start leaving for other jobs elsewhere, now that the market cycle is starting to pick up. Over the past 2 years, the pulp mill has probably been shut down half the time and the workers laid off. Although, of course, the pulp mill has a quite high local wage level, and many probably hope to the bitter end that the mill will ramp up to full operation again.
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A small inland mill. Even if forest owners were to donate their timber there, they would hope to be able to bring it to the gate, given how difficult the timber market situation is.
There are two large pulp mills in Finland. If pulpwood is cheaper than in neighboring countries, wouldn’t that make it competitive, or is the problem primarily overcapacity in the pulp market?
Nothing to add! The forestry sector’s inability to renew itself and create innovative products has been staggering so far.
But will the bioproduct bottle plant of the Chilean forestry company CMPC, opening with the help of UPM’s former CEO Jussi Pesonen, bring a mental shift to the industry’s dullness? Will UPM’s Leuna succeed? Will Fintoil’s Hamina tall oil refinery take off? Norway’s Borregaard is already up and running. So there are flickers of hope 
“how much added value is generated from it and how industrial production is created from innovations in Finland. We need a Forest Sector 2050 program to survive the global competition in the sector”
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[quote="Insinoori, post:4267, topic:725"]\nMaailman suurin yksilinjainen havusellutehdas, Suomen neljänneksi suurin. Ja sijaitsee rannalla.\n[/quote]\n\nIsn’t Joutseno only seventh? Or did you include Kemira / mechanical pulp (kemihierre)? Below is an AI’s opinion.\n\n| # | Mill | Owner | Pulp capacity |\n| -----: | ----------- | -------------- | -----------------: |\n| 1 | Kemi | Metsä Fibre | 1 500 000 t |\n| 2 | Äänekoski | Metsä Fibre | 1 300 000 t |\n| 3 | Imatra | Stora Enso | 1 300 000 t |\n| 4 | Kymi | UPM | 870 000 t |\n| 5 | Pietarsaari | UPM | 800 000 t |\n| 6 | Kaukas | UPM | 700 000 t |\n| 7 | Joutseno | Metsä Fibre | 690 000 t |\n| 8 | Rauma | Metsä Fibre | 650 000 t |\n| 9 | Enocell | Stora Enso | 630 000 t |\n| 10 | Oulu | Stora Enso | ~530–550 000 t |\n\nBeing located on the shore of Lake Saimaa doesn’t really help much when the products mainly go to Central Europe and China. It does say something that Rauma, which is slightly smaller but of the same age class, operates right next to an export harbor continuously.
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Ouch, the AI summary on Google offered something like this:
That is not correct, Imatra is big, but Gemini probably calculates it as a board mill.
And yeah, Saimaa doesn’t really help, especially since the use of the Saimaa Canal is out of the question. But that was more of a response to the claim that the mill is located “inland”. Strictly speaking, it is not.
Be that as it may, it is likely a dying mill. I understand very well why Rauma works and Joutseno doesn’t, but I really don’t believe location is the only reason.
Even the production manager has already moved on to sawmill work there, and (the majority?) of the employees have been working in other units for a long time, so I think the matter is pretty clear.