Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland is responsible for wood procurement in Finland. A total volume of about 20.8 million m3 of wood solid under bark (sub) was supplied during 2004 to Stora Enso’s mills in Finland. A comparatively small quantity of wood is also sold to other customers outside the Group. About 15.3 million m3 (sub) of wood was purchased from Finnish forests, most of which are privately owned.

In rural areas, especially in northern and eastern Finland, forestry is an important source of income for many local people. Wood Supply Finland’s share of all logging income in these areas can be as high as 25%.

Wood Supply Finland has 768 employees and some 400 partner contractors, including harvesting contractors and local transportation and forestry services. During 2004, Wood Supply Finland’s monetary input into local economies in terms of purchases of wood, transportation and harvesting services totalled EUR 647.9 million.

Many harvesting and transportation contractors are small local firms, which have just one or two harvesting machines or trucks. Wood Supply Finland plays a vital role in the survival of these firms as a major customer, or in some cases their only customer. Contracts are usually made for periods of three years, with work amounts specified to allow contractor firms to predict their income levels.

Joint development programmes

Wood Supply Finland also has joint development programmes with many contractors. One such programme carried out together with harvesting firms during the period 1999–2005 concerned applications of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) incorporated in trucks and harvesters.

Wood Supply Finland also provides business education and bookkeeping services for its service suppliers through a web-based service portal. In 2004, Wood Supply Finland supported partner contractors in development of quality systems which also contributed to their business development and efficiency. As a result most contractors now have a quality system in place. Wood Supply Finland Supplier satisfaction is monitored continuously.