The pulp-grinding industry

The pulp-grinding industry in Finland 

1856 Interest arises in Finland

The book printer Carl Wilhelm Holmström is the first to plan to manufacture paper from wood in Finland. He receives permission from the Senate to establish a pulp and paper mill in Vyborg but abandons his plans.

1857 The neighbours take the lead

Sweden’s first pulp mill is established in Trollhättan in 1857. That same year, the pulp grinding industry takes a foothold in Denmark, and one year later, in Russia.

1859 The Kinteri Pulp Mill

The pharmacist Achates Thuneberg obtains Holmström’s rights and constructs Finland’s first pulp mill in the village of Kinteri, in the rural municipality of Vyborg.

1866 The Tampere Pulp Mill

Fredrick Idestam, a mining engineer, establishes the Tampere Pulp Mill along the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids. The following year he receives a bronze medal for his pulp at the Paris World’s Fair.

1869 Domestic product development

Working together with Herman Kaufmann, the director of the Tampere machine shop, Fredrick Idestam develops a new type of grinding machine and they seek a patent. The following year, Idestam successfully experiments with the use of spruce as a pulpwood in place of aspen.

1869 The Mäntä Pulp Mill

The pharmacist Gustaf Adolf Serlachius begins operations at the pulp mill he constructed at Keuruu.

1869 The Nokia Pulp Mill

Idestam begins operations at his second mill, along the banks of the Nokiakoski rapids.

1871 The Kyröskoski Pulp Mill

L.J. Hammarén, G.O. Sumelius and August Nyberg, merchants from Tampere, purchase a former textile mill in Hämeenkyrö and convert it into a pulp mill.

1872 The Valkeakoski Pulp Mill

The pharmacist E.J. Granberg and merchant C.J. Villgrén construct a pulp and paper mill in Sääksmäki beside the Valkeakoski rapids.

1872 The Inkeroinen Pulp Mill

Th. Leonard Hellström, a sales agent, and Lieutenant General Carl August Standertskjöld establish a pulp, paper and board mill on the shores of the Anjalankoski rapids.

1872 Tampere’s second pulp mill

The company Tammerfors Träsliperi Aktiebolag constructs a pulp mill upstream of the Tammerkoski rapids.

1872 The Verla Pulp Mill

The engineer Hugo Neumann establishes Finland’s ninth pulp mill on the shores of the Verlakoski rapids. The mill burns down in 1874. The Austrian-born paper master Gottlieb Kreidl, consul Wilhelm Dippell from Vyborg and the German-born paper master Louis Hänel construct a new pulp and board mill on the site, which begins operations in 1882.

1873 The Kuusankoski Pulp Mill

The pulp, paper and board mills established by Count Carl Robert Mannerheim in Myllysaari in Kuusankoski begin operations.

1874 The Kymi Pulp Mill

The pulp, paper and board mills constructed by industrialist Axel Wilhelm Wahren on the eastern shore of the Kuusankoski rapids begin production.

1875 The Åstrand Pulp Mill

The pulp and paper mill established along the Rakkolanjoki River in the rural municipality of Vyborg by statesman August Krogius ends the first phase of pulp mill construction in Finland.

In praise of wood fibre

At the beginning of the 19th century, more schooling was available and the educational level of the population throughout Europe was increasing. The demand for printed materials increased rapidly. As printers and paper mills attempted to increase their output, however, they were hindered by a lack of raw materials. A limited quantity of rags was available, which prompted a decades-long attempt to develop an alternative source of fibre for pulp.

1844 The solution

The German textile master Friedrich Gottlob Keller develops a method to grind wood into a pulp using a grindstone turning in water. When mixed with rags, the pulp is suitable for papermaking. However, when he attempts to make use of his invention in the industrial production of pulp, he runs into financial difficulties.

1846 The invention continues to develop

Discouraged by the obstacles before him, Keller sells his invention to his fellow countryman Heidrich Voelter, who patents it in his own name. Voelter continues to develop the pulp grinder with the assistance of mechanic J.M. Voith, among others.

1867 The Paris World’s Fair

Heidrich Voelter presents the results of his two decades of development work to the world: a pulp grinder suitable for industrial use along with a pulp cleaner, a secondary grinder and a forming machine. His life’s work is awarded a gold medal at the fair.