Stora Enso\u2019s planned giant sawmill in Imatra has received an environmental permit from the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Agency.<\/p>\n
The new sawmill would be located in the Tainionkoski factory area, within Stora Enso\u2019s existing Imatra mill complex. The permit covers sawmilling operations with a maximum annual production capacity of 800,000 cubic metres of finished sawn timber.<\/p>\n
The permit also allows production of up to 30,000 cubic metres of protectively treated sawn timber per year. According to the project plan, construction could begin this year, although Stora Enso has not yet made a final investment decision. Operations are expected to start in phases in 2028.<\/p>\n
The sawmill is expected to consume around 1.7 million cubic metres of logs per year, using approximately 60% pine logs and 40% spruce logs. The facility is planned as a single-line sawmill operating continuously in three shifts throughout the year.<\/p>\n
Around 2.07 cubic metres of wood would be needed to produce one cubic metre of sawn timber. Of total output, approximately 250,000 cubic metres would be planed timber.<\/p>\n
The planned log yard would cover around 12 hectares. During the summer, logs would be irrigated to prevent deterioration, with irrigation water taken from Lake Saimaa.<\/p>\n
The agency also approved the classification of wood waste fractions generated at the sawmill as by-products. These would include wood chips, sawdust, bark and cutter shavings. The by-products would be used as raw materials and fuels in the pulp and energy industries.<\/p>\n
Pine chips would be supplied directly to Stora Enso\u2019s Tainionkoski pulp mill, while spruce chips would be transported to the company\u2019s Kaukop\u00e4\u00e4 CTMP plant. Sawdust and bark would be used for energy production.<\/p>\n
Logistics for the sawmill would mainly rely on road and rail transport. The project is expected to employ around 150\u2013170 people.<\/p>\n
The planned Imatra sawmill can be compared with Mets\u00e4 Group\u2019s Rauma sawmill, which started operations in 2022. The Rauma sawmill cost approximately \u20ac260 million and has capacity to use around 1.5 million cubic metres of pine logs annually.<\/p>\n
Stora Enso previously said it does not plan to increase wood procurement or logging because of the potential new sawmill. However, given the scale of the project, the facility would require a very large and stable log supply from eastern Finland and surrounding regions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n