Stora Enso concludes negotiations on the permanent closure of Veitsiluoto sawmill
Stora Enso has finalised discussions regarding the permanent shutdown of its Veitsiluoto sawmill located in Kemi, Finland. The production of lumber in Northern Finland will now be streamlined, shifting operations from Veitsiluoto to the company’s other sawmills. Unfortunately, this decision will lead to the redundancy of around 60 employees.
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That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
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Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
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It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
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Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
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Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.
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In August 2026, Stora Enso announced that it was planning to permanently discontinue production at its Veitsiluoto sawmill and centralise production in Northern Finland to Stora Enso’s other sawmills. The reason for the change is the need to improve the efficiency, profitability, and competitiveness of sawmill operations in Northern Finland. The profitability of the sawmill business is expected to continue challenging due to, among others, the high cost of logs. Production at Veitsiluoto sawmill has been curtailed temporarily since early August, and production will now be discontinued permanently.
“The decision to close Veitsiluoto sawmill was difficult. I want to emphasize that the Veitsiluoto team has done excellent work, especially in safety. We will work closely with Stora Enso’s other sites, the employment area of Sea Lapland, and other stakeholders to support our employees in re-employment. We offer, among other things, relocation services and re-employment coaching. In addition, we offer support measures for those who wish to transfer to another work location,” says Matti Lielahti, Head of Stora Enso Business Unit Oulu.
In recent years, Stora Enso has expanded its operations in Northern Finland. The company will continue to deliver high-quality redwood products from its other sawmills for demanding applications. The closure will have only a minor impact on the Business Unit’s wood supply and consumption in Northern Finland. There is demand for high-quality logs at the Oulu, Oulainen, and Kalajoki sawmills as well as for chips and pulpwood at the Oulu board mill.
After the change, Stora Enso will employ approximately 840 people at Business Unit Oulu’s board mill, sawmills in Oulu, Oulainen, and Kalajoki, and port operations.
Stora Enso is a global leader in renewable materials with a strong focus on packaging. Our purpose is to replace non-renewable materials with renewable solutions. Together with our customers, we design and deliver competitive, high-quality packaging materials and solutions, made from fresh and recycled fibers, accelerating the transition to a circular bioeconomy. Stora Enso has approximately 19,000 employees and our sales in 2025 were EUR 9.3 billion. http://www.storaenso.com.
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