Technology accelerates sustainable efficiency leap in the forest industry 

At the core of Valmet's strategy are technologies that help the forest industry improve efficiency, cut emissions, reduce energy consumption, and promote the development of new bioproducts and the utilization of side streams. This supports the entire forest industry value chain, which aims to use the valuable wood raw material as efficiently as possible. 

With a strong automation background Sami Riekkola highlights the importance of digitalization and automation in achieving the forest industry's goal. 

“Data, analytics and smart technology are needed to optimize production, improve maintenance and the entire supply chain. They can also help promote supply chain sustainability, reduce waste and emissions, and improve decision-making processes,” he says. 

Competitive advantage through comprehensive optimization 

One trend strengthening the forest industry is the growing interest in comprehensive automation and optimization solutions to make pulp and paper production more efficient. 

Mill-Wide Optimization (MWO) solutions aim to improve the performance of the entire mill, rather than individual processes. Valmet implemented the first MWO solution at Metsä Fibre's Rauma pulp mill in 2024, and the concept is now being used on several continents. 

“Factory-wide optimization helps a production facility coordinate operations across process areas, such as cooking and fiber lines, to achieve selected goals. It facilitates balancing production, quality, safety, costs, and environmental sustainability,” says Riekkola. 

The pulp industry is investing in technologies that achieve high raw material efficiency and low chemical and water consumption. Solutions that utilize production side streams and minimize waste play a key role. For example, producing higher value-added products from lignin and processing surplus biomass into either biogas or other fuels. 

"Valmet has developed and delivered technology that enables pulp mills to utilize the sulfur-containing odorous gases generated in their own processes and produce sulfuric acid from them for the mill's own use. This reduces emissions and costs," adds Riekkola. 

Services to support the process lifecycle 

Valmet's lifecycle approach is based on a long-term partnership that seamlessly integrates technology, automation, services and data analytics to ensure that customers can safely, efficiently and responsibly realize the full potential of their plant investments throughout their entire lifecycle. 

Valmet's services business plays a key role in enabling forest industry customers to optimize the performance of their existing processes and extend their lifecycle. Data-driven, predictive and timely maintenance improves cost efficiency and avoids unexpected, long and expensive production downtimes. 

"For example, changes in the type of paper machine or changing the fuel in the lime kiln from fossil fuels to bio-based ones are examples of upgrades that can extend the service life of equipment, produce new high-value-added products, utilize production side streams more efficiently, improve the production plant's self-sufficiency rate, and reduce environmental impacts," says Riekkola. 

An example of new high-value-added products is the 3D fiber products created as a result of the collaboration between Valmet and Metsä Group. Wet fiber pulp is used before it is dried and processed using new mold photolithography technology into plastic-replacement packaging.  

Life cycle thinking also takes into account legislative pressures. Customers are constantly faced with requirements such as responsible sourcing of raw materials, acceptable wood use, and air and water emission management. Valmet's solutions and services support customers in meeting these requirements while optimizing process performance and lifecycle. 

Smart energy use on market terms 

In the field of energy efficiency, the forest industry is investing heavily in process digitalization and automation to be able to exploit the volatility of the electricity market. With improved energy efficiency, modern factories are net sellers of electricity and heat. On the other hand, electrification brings new opportunities to factories.  

"Cost optimization and flexibility are key. When the price of electricity is high, factories maximize electricity sales, and correspondingly, during times of cheap electricity, such as abundant wind power, electric boilers can be used for heat production," explains Riekkola. 

Reducing water consumption in the forest industry goes hand in hand with energy savings, as a smaller amount of process water saves energy in heating, pumping and cleaning it. With modern technology, such as Valmet's jaw former technology, it is possible to even halve the water requirement compared to older solutions.  

“Environmental efficiency and smart solutions are at the heart of development projects, including the Beyond Circularity program led by Valmet. The project is part of the Veturi projects, which jointly develop solutions with a wide network to improve the environmental sustainability of industry. Part of these projects is also the development of Valmet's new web-based automation system, which is the result of several years and thousands of person-years of work,” Riekkola illustrates.