THE OLDEST SAWMILL STILL OPERATING IN FINLAND

MM Kotkamills - 150 years of sawn timber with ambition

The sawmill in Kotka was established in 1872 and the year 2022 marked a major milestone for us as our mill was celebrating its 150th anniversary.
HIGHLIGHTS OF OPERATIONS
MILL MANAGEMENT AND OWNERS
1872
”The Norwegian sawmill” in Kotka was founded by a Norwegian sawmill owner Hans Gutzeit.
1904
An office building for the mill was built. The Art Nouveau style house was designed by architects Karl Lindahl and Valter Thomé.
1907
Sulphate cellulose mill was built to make use of sawmill by-products.
1937
A new office building for the mill was built. The house was designed by architect Väinö Vähäkallio.
1953-1954
Kraft paper production was started in the 1950s to make use of the mill's own pulp.
1964
Production of pulp from sawdust was started.
1973
The PM1 paper machine focused on the production of Absorbex® saturating kraft paper.
1980s
Newsprint was produced on PM2 paper machine since 1981, and since 1987 coated magazine paper was produced.
1996 / 2003
Sawline investments.
2011
Recycled Fibre Plant was built.
2016
Innovative Board Machine BM2 was built on the site of the PM2 paper machine.
2022
The investment in the modernisation of the PM1 paper machine is completed and the new packing line is commissioned.
1872 - 1880
Hans Gutzeit
W. Gutzeit & Co
1881 - 1890
Christian Holst
W. Gutzeit & Co
1890 - 1917
Alexander Gullichsen
W. Gutzeit & Co 1872 - 1896, Aktiebolaget W. Gutzeit & Co 1897 - 1927
1917 -1921
Herman Heiberg
Aktiebolaget W. Gutzeit & Co
1921 - 1935
K.J. Hollström
Aktiebolaget W. Gutzeit & Co 1897 - 1927, Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö 1927 -
1935 - 1945
Einar Asplund
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1945 - 1950
Nils Björnberg
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1951 - 1954
Kalle Hautala
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1954 - 1959
Gunnar Kulvik
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1960 - 1968
V-V. Juvonen
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1968 - 1974
K. Helevuo
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1974 - 1979
Pauli Hämäläinen
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1979 - 1986
Matti Harjama
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1986 - 1993
Rainer Gartz
Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö
1994 - 2003
Pentti Huhta
Laminating Papers Oy (Enso Oy 1996, whose subsidiary Laminating Papers Oy). Stora Enso Oyj 1998.
2004 - 2015
Tuija Suur-Hamari
Laminating Papers Oy, Kotkamills Oy since 2010
2015 - 2021
Markku Hämäläinen
Kotkamills Oy
2021 -
Päivi Suutari
MM Kotkamills Oy
Renewing since 1872

The sawmill in Kotka was founded in 1872 and the year 2022 marks a major milestone for us as our mill is celebrating its 150th birthday.

persons-1935
Kotkamills persons 2022

Our persons in 1935 and 2022 in front of the Jugend house that was built in 1903 and which still is in use. This beautiful building was designed by architects Karl Lindahl and Valter Thomé.

The beautiful plants in our mill grounds have delighted and continue to delight our employees during the working day. A beautiful cherry tree is now at its peak on the side of our office building, designed by architect Väinö Vähäkallio in 1937. The building is still the heart of many operations at our factory.

The ship’s cargo numbers have been confirmed and final confirmation from the forwarding side is done. Planning work is underway for customer deliveries to the ports of destination.

The challenges of the supply chain were tackled in 1959 by Mr Harju, Mr Sipari and Mr Typpö. In 2022 Jere, Sara and Hanna are optimizing the most efficient routes for our products to their destinations all over the world.

Having a job in the laboratory is fun: “Good working community, nice colleagues, meaningful and varied tasks, new things to learn and opportunities to develop professionally.” Ladies in the 1950s and ladies in 2022 – Paula, Nina and Susanna – working at our laboratory.

Our mill’s laboratory performs environmental analyses, participates in quality control and product development, analyses samples and contributes to ensuring the operation of the mill.

Ladies in the bureau in the 1950s and ladies – Eija and Miina – in the HR bureau in 2022.

Everyone of us who work at MM Kotkamills start our employment through the HR bureau. Here we sign an employment contract, our photos are taken and we receive our cards and documents. This guarantees a good foundation for the employment.

We celebrate the 150th anniversary of our sawmill. The Kotka sawmill has produced sawn timber since 1872. A lot has changed along the way, but high-quality logs and innovation have been the pillars of our sawmill which is one of Finland’s oldest sawmills still in operation. Also today during Jorma’s and Joonas’ shift, ecological wood products made from certified suppliers’ logs are shipped from Kotka to customers around the world.

The Saturing Kraft Paper is quite a wonder.

Since the 1950s, paper machine 1 at Kotka mill has been producing first sack paper and from the 1960s Absorbex® Saturating Kraft paper. Mr Laamanen and Mr Mattila examine the paper in the 1950s and Mr Ukkola and Mr Seppälä admire the quality of paper in 2022, the 150th anniversary year of the mill.

For the production of Saturing Kraft Paper, MM Kotkamills uses sawdust, by-product of the sawmill industry. MM Kotkamills’ unique process turns sawdust into unbleached pulp and produces speciality paper for use in high pressure laminates. Therefore, carbon is stored into the products for up to decades.

Our Paper Machine 2, built at the beginning of the 1950s, was replaced by an innovative Board Machine in 2016. For decades sack paper, newsprint and magazine paper was shipped from the Kotka harbours abroad. Today customers are provided with fully-recyclable consumer boards to replace plastics in packaging and in food service applications.

Over 150 years of innovations from wood for the world