Business News

First letters of intent signed for new businesses at Tolkkinen sawmill site

Wednesday 10. February 2010 - Up to 100 new jobs coming to Augustinranta business park in next few years

Stora Enso’s search for new partners and new businesses for the site of the
former Tolkkinen sawmill in Porvoo has progressed according to plan, and the
first letters of intent for the Augustinranta business park have been signed.
Stora Enso is selling the site of the former sawmill buildings and the so-called
marina area to the north to an enterprise established by Stefan Svanljung and
Jukka Jaatinen, and the deepwater harbour area to Prima Shipping Oy of Porvoo.
In addition, negotiations concerning biofuel operations, a national oil spill
prevention centre, and companies providing security and maintenance services are
in progress. The letters of intent signed and under negotiation total nearly EUR
7 million. Stora Enso will not disclose the value of individual deals.

“The sales process has gone very well and already meets our expectations. When
one door closed at the end of 2009, many new doors certainly opened,” says
delighted Stora Enso Real Estate Director Matti Karjula, who has been handling
the sales.

Stora Enso’s aim of creating 50 new jobs at the site will be achieved through
the corporate arrangements now made, but the number of new jobs is expected to
be as much as double this. The enterprise established by Stefan Svanljung and
Jukka Jaatinen will create employment for about 20 people. Prima Shipping will
create employment for about 20 people initially and as many as about 45 people
within three years. According to preliminary estimates, the operations planned
for the sawmill site will employ about 20 people in total.

Stora Enso still owns the old pulp mill at the site. A separate refurbishment
plan is being prepared for the building, and it is intended that the building,
which has considerable architectural merit, may in future house an atelier and
office premises. The refurbishment work and search for new uses are being
undertaken jointly with Porvoo Museum.

“We were seeking partners to develop the site with businesses that can utilise
the logistics potential of the marine environment and support each other
synergistically. Work to develop the area certainly does not stop with these
objectives, it will continue in close co-operation with the new and future
businesses,” says Matti Karjula.