Sjöblom is a growing heavy equipment service provider with over 60 years of experience operating in the industrial and construction sectors. Sjöblom’s sawmill operations, including timber and lumber handling, have taken a significant step towards becoming more sustainable. As a result of continuously improving our processes and engaging in discussions with our customers regarding more environmentally friendly solutions, we are shifting towards using renewable fuels.
From April 2023, Sjöblom will be using over 700,000 liters of renewable fuel per year in its internal logistics services in collaboration with UPM Timber, at the sawmills Seikku in Pori and Alholma in Pietarsaari. This move will significantly reduce our carbon footprint, as the renewable fuel has up to 90% less carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional fuel.
“This is a large step forward for the company in terms of sustainability. We have been following the development of taxation on HVO in Finland for several years. Today it is possible to purchase HVO as a lighter taxed fuel, which leads to a smaller cost difference between HVO and traditional fuel, and thus makes HVO a financially viable way to decrease carbon emissions and minimize one's environmental impact.", Isac Sjöblom, who works with Finance and Business Development at Sjöblom, explains.
In addition to shifting to renewable fuels, Sjöblom is at the forefront of the switch to electric heavy equipment. At Bauma 2022 in Munich, Sjöblom took part in several discussions with different heavy equipment manufacturers regarding the green transformation in the Nordics and the electrification of heavy equipment, including Caterpillar's management team member Jason Conklin, Senior Vice President of Global Construction and Infrastructure at Caterpillar. We also had the opportunity to test drive Volvo's new fully electric wheel loader L25 Electric in our operations at the UPM Pietarsaari pulp mill, which is one of Europe's largest pulp mills.
Sjöblom's goal is to have a completely fossil-free fleet by 2030. To achieve this goal, we will continue to offer our heavy equipment services with renewable fuel as an alternative, and we will continue investigating and pursuing a switch to electric machines together with our customers and the heavy equipment manufacturers