UPM-Biofore-Magazine-1-2016-EN

TEXT VESA PUOSKARI

PHOTOGRAPHY UPM

for harvesting in about ten years, so it was absolutely crucial to start these plantations in order to secure cost-effective rawmaterials and the international competitiveness of the forest industry,” says Backman, recalling the early days. Plantations of this kind were then entirely new to

Forestry finds fertile soil in Uruguay E ucalyptus UPM has been planting eucalyptus in Uruguay for a quarter century. Cultivating gum trees for pulp production is a task requiring commitment and long-term R&D.

Uruguay. The first task was to find eucalyptus species suited to local conditions. Specimens were brought in from as far afield as Australia and South Africa, and trial plantations were set up to

plantations were first established in Uruguay in the early 1990s after new legislation was passed to boost the forest industry. Mats Backman , Director of Technical Customer Service at UPM Pulp, was involved in founding the very first plantations in Uruguay in a joint project between Kymmene Oy (today part of UPM) and oil supermajor Shell. Renewable energy production was top of Shell’s agenda, while Kymmene was eager to solidify its position in the pulpmarket. “Eucalyptus trees are mature

Mats Backman

identify lands where the trees

would be most likely to thrive. “We have continued fine-tuning the species chosen for cultivation through systematic breeding. Here our ultimate goal is to ensure that our pulp remains as uniform as possible, as this is crucial for our customers’ production processes,” Backman adds. Output doubled The plantations are managed by Forestal Oriental, a UPM-owned company active in Uruguay since

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