Preparations for construction will begin immediately. Now that the agreement has been signed, the project will be recognised in SRV’s order backlog in August 2023 and it will thus continue to strengthen the company's order backlog, which already started growing last year.

The 50,000-square-metre laminated veneer lumber mill will be built on the expanding Äänekoski industrial site as part of the existing integrated mill. The Kerto LVL mill will manufacture products for the construction industry.

The construction of this large-scale industrial  facility is scheduled for completion in summer 2025. Its construction phase will have an estimated employment impact of about 1,000 person-years. Production is expected to start in late 2026.

“The Äänekoski Kerto LVL mill will be carried out using a modern cooperative model, which is clearly becoming more common in industrial projects due to its advantages. During the development phase, we planned and coordinated the project in good and close cooperation with the client, and are now ready to launch the implementation phase. We’ve already used this contract model successfully to implement facilities such as the Woodspin fibre mill and a multipurpose hall for RMC, and we’re currently constructing a factory building in Vantaa for the silicon wafer manufacturer Okmetic,” says SVP Hannu Lokka, responsible for SRV’s regional units.

Both the building’s design and construction will take a lifecycle-wise approach to energy efficiency and the diverse needs of the future. The building will be heated using waste heat recovered from the industrial process. A back-up heating system for production shutdowns will ensure consistently good conditions at the mill. The mill’s processes and heating will run on bioenergy produced by the nearby bioproduct mill.

Environmentally friendly materials are also being used in the mill’s construction. Wall structures will use sandwich panels insulated with non-combustible mineral wool that is both fully recyclable and suitable for reuse. This will reduce carbon dioxide emissions during the construction phase.

“Our choice of partner was especially influenced by SRV's expertise in industrial project construction and the contract model based on close cooperation,” says Jaakko Anttila, EVP, Metsä Wood.