Nordautomation has supplied the log infeed system and downstream chip and bark conveyors for Tervolan Saha’s new sawmill. The sawmill is scheduled for commissioning in June.
“It’s always exciting to see the facility start running and the first log go onto the track,” says Tuomas Haapa-aho – the Nordautomation project manager responsible for the delivery.
“All the equipment is now in place – we’re just waiting on the log lifts. Mechanical installations are completed. There are some final electrical and hydraulic installations remaining. We’re very much on track,” says Samuli Kokkonen, site manager and production planner at Tervolan Saha.
The project began about two years ago with calls for tender. Nordautomation was already well-known to Tervolan Saha, having delivered a lot sorting line to them in 2019. According to Kokkonen, pricing was competitive among proposals for the new project – so the significance of references was strong.
“The previous delivery left a very positive impression. It went very well, and we received a functional machine,” says Kokkonen. “They’ve definitely built a convincing track record there.”
The order was booked with Nordautomation at the end of July 2021. Work then proceeded quickly. Layout and equipment designs were completed by the end of the same year, reaching the stage where information about the foundation could be provided to Tervolan Saha, and construction could get underway.
Deliveries and installations started in winter of this year. These were handled by Dymont, Nordautomation’s partner in their new joint service model.
“You can see that they’re a highly skilled team. Deliveries and installations have been so seamless that you could imagine it being the same company,” says Kokkonen contentedly. “Changes that have needed to be made to the plan for practical reasons have been applied and approached with good common sense.”
The project involves multiple suppliers, which has led to a few challenges in coordinating different equipment. But overall, according to Kokkonen, the project has progressed extremely well.
“Our partners in this have been ones we know. We’ve done a lot of work with other suppliers to ensure that all the equipment works together,” Haapa-aho explains.
Tervolan Saha’s new sawmill facility represents a significant investment in the industry and the municipality of Tervola, where, as its name suggests, the sawmill is located. The 25-million-euro investment will double the sawmill’s production, which reflects strong confidence in their operations and in the future. The company’s primary customers are domestic house and ceiling truss factories, to whom most of the pine and spruce is delivered. “When the new sawmill reaches 50% production, expected by the end of August, the old sawmill will be closed,” says Kokkonen.
“Tervolan Saha has been looking for reliable partners. A project like this is a big effort for the sawmill – and it’s great that the customer has been actively involved the whole way. They’ve been keen to understand why things are done in certain ways. The customer has had a realistic understanding of what needs happen,” says Haapa-aho.
