“Combatting climate change must be particularly visible in our operations.”
“The integration will allow us to operate the integrated mill entirely without fossil fuels. This is how we improve our resource efficiency and environmental footprint,” Ismo Nousiainen points out. “Our customers have to be competitive to be able to meet the needs of their own customers. This is why contin- uous improvement of cost efficiency is a key issue for us.” Nousiainen stresses that the Äänekoski bioproduct mill and the potential Kemi bioproduct mill ensure that Metsä Fibre is able to operate profitably in all market situations. “The production of pulp has been thought about in an entirely new way in the bioproduct mill concept. Pulp remains at the core, but in addition, we can make new bioproducts from valuable side streams. This enables us to improve our efficiency in pulp production as well.” Nousiainen considers it a perfectly possible scenario that bioproducts other than pulp and sawn timber will become Metsä Fibre’s third pillar. “In a traditional mill, roughly 10 per cent of the net sales are derived from products other than pulp. At Äänekoski, we’ve planned that bioproducts will account for up to 20 per cent of net sales, and this will increase.” Including bioproducts in the portfolio also requires new sales skills alongside new technology. “The customers are different with different business logic. We have to make our own sales and delivery concept compatible with bioproducts.” PULP PRODUCTION IS NOT BASED ON QUARTERLY ECONOMICS The market outlooks for pulp and sawn timber depend on the development of the world economy, the predictability of which has lately grown weaker. Even so, Nousiainen is sure that demand for pulp and sawn timber is set to grow in the long term. He believes that megatrends will strengthen the position of products made from renewable raw materials. “Wood-based solutions are sure to replace fossil-based raw materials in packaging, for example. Sometimes the economy grows, sometimes there are temporary economic decline. This line of work requires you to take the long view. This is not quarterly economics, and we don’t make any decisions on the basis of quarterly levels.” •
Exceeding customers’ expectations also requires Metsä Fibre to be a forerunner in its industry, on a continuous basis. Do you need to have a presence on every front for a leadership position? “Yes, you do, as a matter of fact. It also takes some courage to be a forerunner. When you do company-level investment decisions, for example, or develop your operat- ing models, it requires courage from the personnel as well.” RESOURCE EFFICIENCY SAVES RAW MATERIALS In addition to its customers’ requirements, Metsä Fibre intends to exceed the requirements of its stakeholders and the society. “These days, you talk about resource efficiency and environmental performance in addition to product qual- ity. We must also be able to respond to these trends.” In practice, this is visible in resource efficiency. Metsä Fibre works to ensure that its customers are able to produce their own products from an increasingly small amount of raw material. “For us, it means a decline in the consumption of some products, but on the other hand, we’re able to offer our customers increasingly better competitiveness. Pulp is tasked with strengthening the paper web. If we can achieve the strengthening with less pulp, we save raw material.” Metsä Fibre also wants to improve its environmental performance on a continuous basis. “We see the permit conditions as minimum require- ments. If you think about the forest industry’s accepta- bility as a branch of industry, combatting climate change must be particularly visible in our operations.” A UNION OF SAWN TIMBER AND PULP Metsä Fibre produces sawn timber in addition to pulp. This is a competitive edge that benefits customers as well. “We have a pulp business that uses pulpwood and wood chips, and a sawmill business that needs logs. In terms of wood supply, we therefore have clear synergies. We can ensure that the wood raw material is used very carefully and that we still have enough wood in every market situation.” Metsä Fibre is planning an investment in Rauma in which a sawmill with excellent performance capacity will be integrated with its Rauma pulp mill.
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