UPM-Biofore-Magazine-3-2016-EN

TEXT VESA PUOSKARI   PHOTOGRAPHY TUOMAS UUSHEIMO, UPM; COURTESY OF THE INTERVIEWEES

Otepää ramps up UPM Plywood production

The sixteen renewed production lines of UPM Otepää plywood mill represent the best available technology in terms of safety and efficiency.

T he plywoodmarket has products manufactured at the Otepää plywoodmill than we have been able to provide,” says Mika Kekki , Vice President, Production and Operations of UPMPlywood. “Thanks to the investment, we will be able to eliminate bottlenecks in our production to better respond to the needs of our key customers. Our strategic aim is to differentiate ourselves with high-quality products and the most reliable customer service in the industry,” he adds. Kekki explains that the construction industry is the biggest end user of plywood, followed by transport industries that use veneer for truck and trailer flooring. Other important applications are containment systems been growing solidly these last few years. There has beenmore demand for our

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for LNG vessels in the shipping industry. “We are the leading supplier of special birch plywood for LNG carriers. The use and global transport of liquefied natural gas is increasing, so the growth of this sector looks promising in the future as well,” he predicts. Ando Jukk explains that the mill has installed a new plywood line including all of the machinery needed for veneer and plywoodmanufacturing. The new peeling and drying line will produce the same amount of veneer as the two existing lines put together. “The sixteen production lines represent the best available techno- logy in terms of safety and efficiency. This investment will improve our production processes andmaterial efficiency inmany ways.” Making more out of less Director andMD of Otepää AS

UPM’s modernized plywood mill in Otepää, Estonia is set to double its production capacity this autumn. Extensive renewals are in progress to benefit customers, employees and the environment.

UPM Plywood’s strategic aim is to provide high-quality products with the most reliable customer service in the industry.

Mika Kekki

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