A documentary about the state of an industrial city in Eastern Finland The project also stages an objection to the media representation of the Finnish countryside as dying and desolate Varkaus is a city that was born around a paper mill in the late 19th century Far into the 20th century the mill was the raison d’etre of the community as every residents livelihood was somehow connected to it the financial crisis and pummelling demand for paper caused by digitalisation have led to the mill cutting down on employees This has caused it to lose the hold it once had over the way the residents viewed themselves and their city trying to find a new cornerstone to build their identity on If Varkaus is no longer an industrial city In the Finnish media these types of small communities struggling with the effects of globalisation are often portrayed through a grand narrative of an emptying and dying countryside Regardless of financial and political flows however everyday life carries on for the city’s residents It is this layer of the usual and everyday that I’m interested in portraying in this project At the same time the project lays a critical gaze on the documentary photographer as narrator into the form of the work I am from the southern capital of Finland and have never lived in Varkaus The perspective in my images will always be one of an outsider As a part of the project I have spread cameras to people I have met while working and asked them to document their own life and surroundings as a part of the project The resulting project will be presented in a polyphonic form rife with contradiction which curently produces 1,000 tonnes of rainbow trout at an RAS facility in Finland has announced plans to invest an additional €45 million in the sector the company’s 1,000 tonne farm in Varkaus achieved maximum capacity in 2020 and its products are currently sold in more than a thousand grocery stores in Finland under the Saimaan Tuore brand With the investment programme announced today, Finnforel enters its next growth phase as the company aims for rapid expansion in both the Finnish and global markets “Only 0.1 percent of all the fish in the world is produced in an ecologically sustainable way This is a massive €300 billion business that must change if we want to save our seas and lakes I believe that Finnforel’s highly refined model which works without antibiotics or environmental emissions can claim a significant part of this market the mission of the Finnforel team is to bring Finnish genetics and fish farming know-how to the world fish will be farmed where consumers are,” said Pekka Viljakainen chairman of the board and one of the founders of Finnforel Oy Construction work on the extension of its existing farm which is due to cost approximately €25 million and triple its production capacity The company also plans to start exporting its trout in December 2021 Meanwhile they are also entering the design phase for several similar trout-farming projects in Europe A significant part of Finnforel’s expansion plans is to introduce industrial-scale broodstock and fry production suitable for recirculating aquaculture systems most of the eggs used in fish farming in Finland are imported Finnforel is building a €12 million genetics and fry plant in Hollola that will have the capacity to produce eggs for six Finnforel gigafactor plants around the world which is being implemented in close co-operation with Natural Resources Institute Finland is also important in terms of Finland's emergency supply Finnforel will help secure the supply of fish eggs and fry Natural Resources Institute Finland has carried out pioneering research in rainbow trout genetics This project marks the first time that the results of this work are being applied and commercialised to this extent “According to the business model created by Finnforel fish will be processed from eggs to consumer packaging we create an easy way for consumers and retailers to buy and sell fresh and delicious fish The consumption of fish is growing internationally and I firmly believe that more vigilant consumers will increasingly favour organically produced alternatives that are easy and quick to prepare,” says Max Alfthan Finnforel is financing these investments totalling €45 million through a €34 million share issue €4.5 million from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and €6 million in loans from banks The share issue will make significant Finnish and international institutional investors shareholders in Finnforel the European Investment Bank (European Fund for Strategic Investment) The Good Investors (Ireland/France) and other European family enterprises Tokmanni     Press release     11 April 2023 at 3:00 p.m Tokmanni has refurbished the store of around 4,650 square metres in line with its newest store concept which emphasises convenient and pleasant shopping “Our main goal has been to improve the customer experience. We have responded to our customers’ wishes by improving our store signage, displaying our products and product categories in clearer product areas and renewing our product range, among other things,” says Timo Heimo The store selection will continue to focus on beauty home renovation and seasonal products in particular these improvements will ensure that customers will be able to find what they are looking for such as Tokmanni’s promotional and seasonal products “The modernisation our Varkaus store will also streamline the daily work of Store Manager Tiina Kuosmanen and the approximately 35 retail professionals who work in the store,” he adds The Tokmanni store in Varkaus is also a full-service grocery store. Its selection includes around 6,500 food products, from fruit and vegetables to bread and fresh fish. The store’s wide assortments also include stock lots of various products and food products sold under the Priima brand Special attention is paid to convenience of shopping in the refurbishment of Tokmanni stores the Finnish products of local and small producers are prominently displayed The picture here is from the Mäntsälä store Miny products included in the assortment for the first time The refurbishment also responds to another customer wish as a shop-in-shop department for Miny the lifestyle brand launched by Tokmanni just over a year ago has also been added to the store in Varkaus Miny offers a diverse range of more than 1,000 beauty, wellbeing and interior decoration products and other surprising and interesting things to buy. The selection also includes Miny ECO range which focuses on recycled and bio-based materials baskets containing recycled plastic and jewellery containing recycled zinc alloy “Miny is an excellent addition to the already comprehensive product range of the Varkaus store which have been eagerly received by customers can be purchased not only from our online store but also from 20 cities or municipalities across Finland already We believe that our customers in Varkaus will also be very interested in Miny,” says Heimo The renovated Tokmanni store in Varkaus also features a shop-in-shop department dedicated to the Miny lifestyle brand The photo is from the Tikkurila store in Vantaa where a similar Miny shop-in-shop department was opened in February last year Wide range of services and focus on energy choices In addition to offering a pleasant shopping experience and comprehensive product assortments Tokmanni has invested in services that make the daily life of customers easier and in smart energy choices Tokmanni purchases only zero-emission electricity for its locations and energy-efficient LED technology is used in the lighting of all Tokmanni stores As is the case with numerous other Tokmanni stores the store in Varkaus has a recycling point where customers can bring their light bulbs The Tokmanni store in Varkaus serves its customers with extensive opening hours: on weekdays from 7 am to 9 pm on Saturdays from 7 am to 8 pm and on Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm The store’s address is Käsityökatu 22 The store has been open throughout the remodelling Special offers and surprise buckets with product gifts Tokmanni will celebrate the opening of its refurbished store in Varkaus with special offers that will be available from Thursday 13 April to Sunday 16 April 2023 1,000 of Tokmanni’s famous surprise buckets filled with product gifts will be handed out for free to the first customers at the opening on Thursday A Tokmanni gift card worth EUR 100 has been hidden in two of the buckets Tokmanni’s network of stores will continue to grow and renew The plan is to celebrate the opening of the new store in Konala in the spring in Keljo during the current year and in Tiiriö in October or November this year the openings of the Miny stores are planned for the end of May HELSINKI FINLAND JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 58 Forensic investigators examining the scene of an explosion in Varkaus The explosion left one person dead and the entire block of flats uninhabitable POLICE have determined the likely cause of a fatal explosion that took place in a flat in Varkaus Eastern Finland Police Department on Tuesday revealed that investigations conducted at the crime scene indicate that vaporised gasoline was likely the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire It remains unknown whether the person found dead in the flat had ignited the gasoline on purpose or by accident The lone casualty has tentatively been identified as a man born in his early 30s who had recently moved to Varkaus. The man is not a “so-called old acquaintance of police”, a police spokesperson said in the press release The man was alone in the flat at the time of the explosion Four other people were rescued from the same building following the explosion three with the help of an aerial platform and one with the help of an escape hood The four residents were taken to hospital care due to exposure to smoke but none of them had sustained more serious injuries requiring longer-term care Altogether roughly a dozen people were in the building at the time of the explosion but most of them managed to leave the building without assistance The explosion destroyed the flat it occurred it completely The entire building has been declared uninhabitable for the time being but local authorities have arranged temporary accommodation for the residents The incident is being investigated as aggravated criminal mischief and as a death and fire investigation. The investigators have yet to rule out any possibilities, Vesa Koponen, a detective chief inspector at Eastern Finland Police Department, said on Tuesday, according to Helsingin Sanomat Advertisement inquiries and other after-sales issues: info@helsinkitimes.fi Helsinki Times is the first and only English language newspaper providing news about Finland in English A weekly print edition of Helsinki Times was published from March 2007 up until Feb Helsinki Times is an online-only publication and other groups and individuals interested in Finland from all around the world © Helsinki Times All rights reserved.  Terms of Use | Privacy Policy Full results on FIM Europe website: http://www.fim-europe.eu/events/613 | Copyright 2025 FIM Europe | Terms of use - Privacy statement | Estonian DeepTech scale-up Skeleton Technologies is expanding its manufacturing capacity into Finland after acquiring European Battery Technologies Oy Skeleton Technologies develops novel energy storage solutions such as Supercapacitor and SuperBattery and says the acquisition will further strengthen the Nordic Tech Valley's global attractiveness Skeleton acquired European Battery Technologies Oy after the latter's bankruptcy and has also secured a separate lease agreement with Keski-Savon Teollisuuskylä for a state-of-the-art 9,400 square meter plant located in in Varkaus Taavi Madiberk said: "We have been investing to ramp up our manufacturing capacity in Germany and Finland is an excellent addition to rapid prototyping and expanding our piloting capabilities significantly." "This will support our existing manufacturing sites and will allow us to initiate the pilot production of our next-generation products," Madiberk went on according to an Invest in Estonia press release "We have an ambitious technology roadmap to serve all needs for energy storage which is why we will need to accelerate the expansion of our development and manufacturing capabilities," he added Mayor of Varkaus Joonas Hänninen said that with its rich industrial history the town of Varkaus eagerly embraces the venture calling it a significant step toward a new era in the modern energy industry and anticipating the growth and innovation that Skeleton Technologies should bring to the local community European Batteries Oy was the first company to manufacture Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries in Europe LFP batteries use iron phosphate as the cathode material and are known for their high energy density They are used in a variety of applications such as electric vehicles Skeleton currently operates a plant in Dresden and is in the process of constructing a €220-million state-of-the-art ultracapacitors factory in Leipzig Skeleton Technologies is also to establish a dedicated R&D team led by renowned battery expert Dr Kai Vuorilehto working closely with the Espoo-based Aalto University to facilitate advanced R&D efforts and to foster innovation Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update! 0)" class="article-poll-disclaimer" ng-bind="totalVotes + ' hääletajat'"> {{option.votes}} {{selectedLanguage.poll.votes}}/ Iga kasutaja võib hääletada {{poll.optionLimit}} vastusevariandi poolt Information from the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s observations stations says the cities of Mikkeli Kuopio and Ilomantsi were hardest hit by the deluge it rained more in 24 hours than the average monthly total for May According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute with a measurement of 62.5 mm by eight am Wednesday Kuopio and Ilomantsi in addition to Varkaus there is no danger of flooding in these areas “There may be some drainage water flooding in urban areas but the Finnish Environment Institute announced earlier that lake levels are quite low so there is room for water in the lakes,” says Hellinen The weather cleared up in the East by Wednesday afternoon with the last rains falling in North Karelia in the evening Canada:  Wildlife endangered by Yukon warm weather Finland: Cold weather causes dazzling light displays in Finland Sweden: Warm weather threatens Sweden’s Vasaloppet ski race United States:  Weather takes a toll on wildlife, environment in Alaska For more news from Finland visit Yle News. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. suspend wage paymentsMembers of the paperworkers' union are not on strike but the companies say the plants cannot operate due to the walkout by transport and logistics workers Open image viewerFile photo of UPM's paper mill near the city of Kouvola. Image: Antro Valo / YleYle News12.3.2024 12:55•Updated 13.3.2024 9:48Finland's three biggest forest sector companies — UPM, Stora Enso and the Metsä Group — have announced plans to temporarily close some of their pulp or paper mills due to a two-week walkout by workers that began on Monday The political strikes reflect worker unions' continued opposition to the government's planned changes to labour market legislation A statement released by UPM on Monday revealed that the company planned to shut at least four factories while the political strike is ongoing The firm further indicated that it does not plan to pay any wages to employees while the plants are closed even though this includes members of the paperworkers' union — who are not on strike Metsä Group also announced on Monday that it will close its pulp mill in Lappeenranta but still plans to continue paying wages for the time being Stora Enso said its packaging board mill in Varkaus will cease operations from Wednesday although the firm's sawmill and the veneer wood mill — also located in Varkaus — will continue to operate The company's Communications Director confirmed to Yle that wages will not be paid to employees affected by the closure adding that the company has a unified policy in Finland regarding such situations "The policy is that at the point when work is prevented the payment of wages is also suspended," Peura said criticised the decision by employers to suspend wage payments due to the closures the company had an obligation to pay wages for seven days but UPM has announced that this will not happen this time," Vanhala said adding that the union will assess whether UPM's decision complies with Finnish labour legislation once the strike has ended He further noted that the union is likely to take the case to court "It will take longer [to resolve] if we go to court but it will be made clear whether the company acted rightly or wrongly Our interpretation is that it is acting wrongly," he said justified the company's decision in a text message to Yle on Monday evening noting that the political strikes aim to influence legislative changes concerning the working conditions of employees as defined by Finland's Employment Contracts Act the employer is not obliged to pay wages to employees who are out of work due to strikes," Hollmén wrote In this FAQ Yle News answers some of the questions surrounding the widespread strikes that started in Finland on Monday Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here 24.10.2024 08:00:00 EEST | Finnforel Oy | Tiedote Johtava suomalainen vesiviljelyteknologian yritys Finnforel on hyväksynyt Mitsubishi Corporationin tekemän sijoituksen, jonka tarkoituksena on vauhdittaa Finnforelin kiertovesikasvatusteknologian viemistä globaaleille markkinoille. "Meille on suuri kunnia, että Finnforel on saanut tälle matkalle tuekseen Mitsubishi Corporationin, jolla on globaalit jakelukanavat sekä asiantuntijoita ja resursseja", Viljakainen lisää. Finnforel on vuonna 2015 perustettu innovatiivinen vesiviljelyteknologian yritys, joka operoi Suomessa kiertovesikasvatusjärjestelmiä, joiden vuosittainen tuotantomäärä on kolmetuhatta tonnia. Yhtiön arvoketju kattaa kaikki kalanviljelyn vaiheet mätimunasta kasvatukseen ja valmiisiin kuluttajapakkauksiin saakka. Toimintamallin tehokkuuden ja skaalautuvuuden ansiosta yrityksen tavoitteena on moninkertaistaa tuotantokapasiteetti vuoteen 2032 mennessä globaalin kasvun kautta. Kestävä proteiinintuotanto on osa ruokaturvaa YK:n elintarvike- ja maatalousjärjestön (FAO) mukaan vesiekosysteemeistä peräisin olevat elintarvikkeet muodostavat 15 prosenttia maailman eläinproteiinien saannista. Vesiviljelytuotteiden globaali kulutus on yli kaksinkertaistunut viimeisten 60 vuoden aikana ja FAO ennustaa, että kulutus kasvaa vielä 12 prosenttia vuoteen 2032 mennessä.  Samaan aikaan kuluttajaryhmät ja ympäristöjärjestöt ympäri maailmaa tuovat esiin tarpeen siirtyä nykyisistä kalankasvatus- ja kalastusmenetelmistä täysin kestäviin, jätteettömiin ja ympäristöystävällisiin malleihin.  "On hienoa päästä tämän sijoituksen myötä mukaan Finnforelin matkalle. Myös me koemme kestävän proteiinintuotannon kehittämisen erittäin tärkeäksi asiaksi. Tämä mahdollistuu Finnforelin vision mukaisesti Gigafactory-konseptissa, jossa tuotanto, kalanviljely, käsittely ja tuotteistus hoidetaan integroidusti", sanoo Akihiko Soga, Mitsubishi Corporationin merituoteosaston johtaja. "Mitsubishi Corporation jatkaa kalankasvatusliiketoimintansa vahvistamista sekä osallistumistaan kestävien ruokaresurssien turvaamiseen sekä yhteiskunnallisten tarpeiden ratkaisemiseen,” Soga lisää.  Finnforel viljelee Gigafactoryssaan kirjolohta, joka on kiertovesikasvatusjärjestelmiin (RAS) oivasti sopiva kylmän veden kalalaji. Finnforelin järjestelmä hyödyntää edistynyttä teknologiaa, jonka avulla kalan elinolosuhteet pidetään ihanteellisina. Kiertovesijärjestelmässä vesi puhdistuu ja käytetään uudelleen, minkä ansiosta biojätettä ei synny ja jäteveden määrä pysyy vähäisenä. Kiertovesikasvatusjärjestelmä mahdollistaa kalatuotannon ympäri vuoden ympäristöolosuhteista riippumatta. Finnforelin Gigafactory-konsepti kattaa myös kuluttajatuotteiden käsittelyn ja pakkaamisen paikan päällä. Tämä vähentää logistiikkaketjun osapuolten määrää ja lyhentää kuljetusaikoja, mikä luonnollisesti takaa kalatuotteiden tuoreuden ja alentaa kustannuksia. Konsepti tukee paikallisia ruokajärjestelmiä ja vähentää pitkän matkan kuljetuksista aiheutuvaa hiilijalanjälkeä. Yrityksen kokonaisvaltainen kiertovesiviljelyyn perustuva konsepti kattaa kalanviljelyn koko tuotantoketjun – uraauurtavista jalostusohjelmista aina rehujen kalankasvatuksen ja käsittelyn hallintaan sekä valmiisiin kuluttajapakkausiin Yhtiö tekee tiivistä yhteistyötä sekä paikallisten että kansainvälisten kumppaneidensa kanssa tavoitteenaan mullistaa koko kalankasvatusala Finnforelin kehittämä toimintamalli vähentää päästöjä Toimintamallin vastuullisuus korostaa Finnforelin sitoutumista kestävään antibiootti- ja mikromuovivapaaseen kalankasvatukseen sekä yrityksen tavoitetta olla ympäristöystävällisten vesiviljelykäytäntöjen edelläkävijä Yhtiön tuotteita myydään tällä hetkellä Suomessa yli tuhannessa ruokakaupassa Saimaan Tuore -tuotemerkillä sekä ulkomailla LOHI-tuotemerkillä Lisätietoja osoitteissafinnforel.com saimaantuore.filohi.earth Haluatko tietää asioista ensimmäisten joukossa saat ne sähköpostiisi välittömästi julkaisuhetkellä Tilauksen voit halutessasi perua milloin tahansa Finnforel Oy:n uudeksi toimitusjohtajaksi on nimitetty Nora Hortling (KTM) MSc (Econ) Nora Hortling (38) has been appointed as the CEO of Finnforel Oy starting from February 3 Potential facility will use advanced technology to cultivate rainbow trout year-round in stable safe and clean indoor conditions Collaboration with Finnforel complements ADQ’s existing initiatives aimed at exploring solutions to bolster the UAE’s food resilience Upon satisfactory conclusion of the feasibility stage the facility will be the first commercial-scale operation at KEZAD’s dedicated zone for aquaculture and related industries Ympäristöystävällisen kalankasvatuksen edelläkävijä Saimaan Tuore tuo markkinoille helposti käytettävän kirjolohen fileejauhelihan Helppokäyttöisen kalajauhelihan voi vain kumota paketista suoraan pannulle kända för miljövänlig och hållbar odling av fisk genom recirkulerande vattenbruk har tilldelats certifiering från ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) för ansvarsfull fiskodling ASC-certifieringen är en globalt erkänd garant för att fiskodlingen följer strikta kriterier för miljö och socialt ansvar När konsumenter köper ASC-certifierad fisk kan de vara säkra på att de gör ett ansvarsfullt val Uutishuoneessa voit lukea tiedotteitamme ja muuta julkaisemaamme materiaalia Löydät sieltä niin yhteyshenkilöidemme tiedot kuin vapaasti julkaistavissa olevia kuvia ja videoita Uutishuoneessa voit nähdä myös sosiaalisen median sisältöjä Kaikki tiedotepalvelussa julkaistu materiaali on vapaasti median käytettävissä Tietosuoja Drinks cartons in the UK represent only a fraction of the household waste stream but they are far more significant on the Continent In Britain recycling of the cartons is only just getting off the ground but in Finland a recycling plant is fully operational Finland is justly proud of its development at Varkaus which not only recycles the paper content of the carton but also uses the plastic liner for energy recovery and collects the aluminium coating for further refining and re-use The recovered fibres are used for the production of cores which come in a remarkably wide range of sizes through to centre cores used for small-scale packaging jobs Finland is not normally famous for its recycling work as its main material role is the production of virgin fibre the country is making considerable strides to develop recycling: it already recycles some 70% of paper generated inside Finland; its paper industry is investing in recycling mills outside of the country; and it has the carton recycling plant at Varkaus Owned by paper giants Stora Enso and UPM-Kymmene Corenso believes the Varkaus mill to be the only one in the world where 100% of liquid packaging components are recycled The recycling route at the Corenso mill and Ecogas plant in VarkausThe mill at Varkaus is an integral part of Stora Enso's forest products manufacturing complex situated in the centre of the Finnish lake district in the east of the country Its remarkable position in the centre of the town of Varkas reflects how the town has developed around the mill The plant itself is seeing considerable investment at present with a new thermo-mechanical line being built with the closure of groundwood pulp line The mill consumes a massive 2.4 million cubic metres of wood a year and it produces fine papers and publication papers including newsprint Investment at the site in the current financial year will total 80-90 million Euros The carton recycling plant has been built at the side of the mill alongside one of the old mill buildings which contains the pioneering Ecogas plant that makes use of the 30% non fibre content of a drinks carton – plastic goes to energy use and aluminium for use by the metal industry Baled used cartons ready to enter the recovery process.Recycling of the cartons is a natural follow-on for the paper industry in Finland as it is a large producer of carton boards for markets such as Germany Production is centred on the Stora Enso mill at Imatra which is a specialist producer of liquid packaging board and boasts a renowned research centre for looking at new packaging techniques and processed Most of the imported cartons for recycling come from Germany This is a form of reciprocal agreement – Finland exports the cartons and Germany through the DSD system can afford to return the material for recycling Use is made of rail transport with Varkaus having good access to European freight rail routes – the plant processes the equivalent of 12 railway wagons of compressed bales of collected material every day The amount paid by Germany for processing the material has not been revealed although it is thought to be in the order of several hundred Euros per tonne This gate fee is nor surprising considering that the raw material has a low value and the Ecogas plant alone cost 20 million Euros to build while the total cost of the carton recycling facility overall is estimated at 45 million Euros Shredded cartons being processed to recover the fibre.At the plant the baled containers enter a shredder where metal bale straps are removed for recycling The material is then passed into a fibre drum where the fibres are passed on for screening and storage prior to being used for coreboard making The particularly novel feature of the process is the passing of the plastic (polyethylene) liners within the containers and the aluminium liner through to the Ecogas plant Impurities are removed and the material – with added supplies to ensure sufficient volumes are present for burning – is passed through to the Ecogas plant At this stage aluminium in the form of granules are recovered while the polyethylene is used for gas production Corenso recycling manager Jukka Auvinen explains that the plant started up at the beginning of 2001 To produce the coreboard production of 85,000 tonnes a year about 52,000 tonnes of recycled fibre from the cartons is used as well as “We take in about 85,000 tonnes of liquid packaging cartons a year The rest comes from Finland with a few thousand tonnes from Holland.” The plant does not at present take any material from the UK but Mr Auvinen said this might be possible in the future and some talks about this were planned.” For coreboard production at Varkaus of about 85,000 tonnes a year about two thirds of the fibre comes from the cartons with one third coming from used cardboard and mixed waste paper enough to heat a Finnish town of 40,000 people throughout the long cold Nordic winter Aluminium recovery from the process stands at about 3,000 tonnes a year While the recovered material contains aluminium there is also an element of “coal” like particles and so the aluminium will need an element of further processing although Corenso is confident that customers will be announced shortly for the material the message from Corenso is that more plants of this type are needed throughout the world “To recycle just 50% of the world's used packaging which contains aluminium foil would enable hundreds of Ecogas plants to be built replacing at least one 1,000 MW nuclear plant.” Full contact information: HERE Get the latest waste and recycling news straight to your inbox We are using cookies to give you the best browsing experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again This website uses cookies to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site Keeping these cookies enabled helps us to fund and improve our website which is free to visit and use All such information remains confidential and we use only to determine which pages are popular with readers Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences More information about our Cookie Policy the steam tugboat Ahkera (”Hard-working; industrious”) is the oldest museum-owned steam tugboat on Lake Saimaa and reportedly in all of Finland The Ahkera shares some of that history with another venerable vessel docked behind Riihisaari: when the Salama sank in 1898 the Ahkera was there to take on her passengers The Ahkera was used to tow floating lumber from the upper Saimaa down to Imatra The boat changed hands multiple times before being purchased by forestry company Enso-Gutzeit in 1902 They put the Ahkera to work towing timber rafts from Kuopio and Joensuu to the Rutola portage The Ahkera kept working for Gutzeit until 1958 a relationship commemorated by the white star on the boat’s funnel In the early 1970s the boat was brought into drydock and renovated as a museum vessel at Savonlinna’s Laitaatsilta shipyard In 2002 Enso-Gutzeit’s successor company Stora Enso donated the Ahkera to the city of Savonlinna In June 2004 the Ahkera docked at Riihisaari becoming part of Finland’s largest fleet of museum steamers The history of the Ahkera is intertwined with that of steam schooner Salama as the tugboat was on the scene to take on many of the schooner’s passengers when she sunk in September 1898 Please accept all cookies to see this content or watch content here. ownership of the steam tugboat Ahkera passed to a local private association The association has been working to renovate the Ahkera as a functional vessel while preserving its traditional nature and museality a process that is currently in its final stages The Ahkera was docked at Riihisaari for the summer of 2022 Please accept all cookies to see this content or watch content here. Please accept all cookies to see this content or watch content here. There’s still one employee left at the empty facility and local politicians want to bring back regular flights—but for now the airport is eerie and deserted Open image viewerImage: Sakari Partanen / YleAt first glance The departures and security control signposts are illuminated It’s as if somebody is going to open a door and let in a busload of passengers and it hasn’t for two years now since the last Finnair flights left which is actually in the municipality of Joroinen now hosts only one employee: Helena Kutvonen She takes care of accounting work for Finavia (formerly the civil aviation authority) but also doubles as a kind of caretaker for the empty airport Her first task each morning is to patrol the premises to ensure that nothing was broken during the night "The radio adds a little atmosphere," says Kutvonen "Sometimes I watch some television news in the morning." She’s tried to bring some Christmas cheer to the office with decorations and advent candles Although she says she doesn’t mind working alone Kutvonen admits she preferred it when there were more colleagues around Open image viewerImage: Sakari Partanen / YleTwo years ago the last scheduled flights took off from Varkaus Finnair’s departure did not come as a surprise: in 2012 there were on average just 18 passengers each day On the quieter days there were more staff than customers Many of those who staffed the airport have since been transferred to other sites but for the last year she’s been all on her own has remained ready for business for the last two years Last summer it hosted concerts as part of a local festival Finavia decided to remove Varkaus from its network That means the company and Helena will vacate the premises at the end of this year "At that point I’ll lock the doors and turn out the lights," says Kutvonen "Everyone’s sad that we have such good infrastructure but not enough passengers." It’s a common refrain in rural Finland. Varkaus is forecast to lose 3,324 inhabitantsOpens an external website by 2025 (compared to 2005), a hefty chunk of its current 22,000 population. Local politicians do fight tooth and nail to try and keep their transport links, but they're often fighting a losing battle. That was the case in Varkaus too, where the local council met to agree several hundred thousand euros of flight subsidies. Unfortunately for them, Finavia announced its decision two hours before their planned meeting. Open image viewerThe Aalto Health and Social Services Centre in Varkaus which opened in 2021 and replaced the former Varkaus hospital last year Image: Antti-Petteri Karhunen / YleYle News11.1 18:24A clear majority of people in Finland say that their local health services have deteriorated since the sweeping social and healthcare reform It took effect at the beginning of 2023 with the establishment of 21 wellbeing services counties Nearly 60 percent of respondents in a survey published on Saturday said that healthcare services in their home municipalities have worsened in the past two years while only three percent said that they have improved The poll was conducted for the independent Foundation for Municipal Development (Kaks) at least half of respondents said that health services in their municipality had gone downhill Middle-aged people and those approaching retirement age were more likely to see a worsening in services and those in Eastern and Northern Finland were particularly convinced of this and the opposition Left Alliance said more often than others that access to health services had deteriorated Although many believe that the availability of health and social services has deteriorated since the beginning of 2023 many are still quite satisfied with the current situation Forty-two percent said they were very or quite satisfied with the health services in their municipality while 33 percent were more or less dissatisfied People aged 61 and over were more satisfied than average with the availability and accessibility of health services in their municipalities backers of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party and the main opposition Social Democratic Party are more satisfied than others Supporters of the Finns Party and the Left Alliance were more vocal about criticising the availability of health services in their municipality Last month Yle reported that more than half of Finland's healthcare regions, or counties, have been unable to balance their budgets, with many posting heavy financial losses. The research was carried out for Kaks by pollster Verian, which interviewed just over 1,000 adults in late November and early December. The margin of error is just under three percentage points. Image: Markus Varneslahti / Navitas YrityspalvelutYle News19.3.2024 14:03Finland is among seven countries whose air quality met the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year The air quality in the majority of countries around the world contains more harmful particles than what is considered healthy, according to an air quality reportOpens an external website from Swiss-based organisation IQAir The only countries that met the health group's air quality standards were Finland The global survey was based on air quality monitoring data from more than 7,800 cities in 134 countries monitoring compared the air quality in those locations using the WHO's guidelines for PM2.5 — tiny particles in the air caused by vehicles and industry "Exposure to PM2.5 air pollution leads to and exacerbates numerous health conditions exposure to elevated levels of fine particles can impair cognitive development in children and complicate existing illnesses including diabetes," IQAir stated in a report summary The assessment found that air particulates in the most polluted countries were more than ten times higher than recommended levels — those countries included Bangladesh The poor air quality in those countries was mainly due to road traffic emissions are rising in those countries due to many people burning wood and manure for cooking and heating the air is cleaner overall than in the past but air quality has deteriorated in a number of regions for one reason or another Canada's air quality was worsened by last year's massive forest fires and emissions in China grew by 6.5 percent as the country's industrial sector started making headway after the coronavirus pandemic UK newspaper the Guardian reported on Tuesday that seven million people around the world die every yearOpens an external website due to air pollution — which is more than the fatalities caused by AIDS and malaria People in developing countries suffer the most air pollution-related health problems around 20 percent of premature deaths in Bangladesh are caused by air pollution The tiny air particles pose dangers to a number of groups — including the elderly young children and people with long-term illnesses — and exposure to them for just a few hours or days can be life-threatening Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. 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Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here. jolleivat päällystämättömän hienopaperin kysynnän ja tarjonnan tasapaino sekä hinnat parane pysyvästi Avaa kuvien katseluKuva: YLE / Savo19.8.2009 9:07•Päivitetty 20.4.2012 3:50Stora Enso VarkausPaperikoneet 2 ja 4 tuottavat luettelo- ja sanomalehtipaperia Paperikone 3 tuottaa päällystämätöntä hienopaperia Saha tuottaa kuusesta lankkua ja lautaa sekä höylätavaraa Sellutehdas tuottaa sellua Varkauden paperikoneille Paperikone kolmen sulkeminen tekisi myös sanomalehti- ja luettelopaperin sekä puutuotteiden kannattavan valmistamisen mahdottomaksi Varkauden tehtailla Varkauden sahalla vähäinen kysyntä ja raaka-aineen saatavuus voi johtaa tulevina kuukausina uusiin tuotannonrajoituksiin ja tuotantoa voidaan joutua siirtämään muille sahoille Stora Enson Varkauden tehtailla on noin 630 työntekijää Stora Enso valmistaa Varkaudessa sanomalehti- ja luettelopaperia sekä hienopaperia Varkauden hienopaperikoneiden tuotantoa rajoitetaan lisää Stora Enso keskittää päällystämättömän hienopaperin tilaukset ensisijaisesti Veitsiluotoon ja Ruotsin Nymöllaan Stora Enson ja Neste Oilin yhteiseen biopolttoaineen koelaitoksen toimintaan muutoksilla ei ole yhtiön mukaan vaikutusta Stora Enso kuitenkin ryhtyy varautumaan Varkauden tehtaiden sulkemiseen muutoin sillä se alkaa yhteistyökumppaneidensa kanssa selvittää ratkaisuja käytetyn nestepakkauskartongin kierrätykseen Suomessa sekä kaukolämmön tuottamiseen Varkauden kaupungille Tuotantokapasiteetin vähennyksiä perustellaan heikolla kysynnällä ja siitä aiheutuvilla raskailla tappioilla Toimitusjohtaja Karvinen: Vain ihme pelastaa Varkauden tehtaan Stora Enson toimitusjohtaja Jouko Karvinen pitää Varkauden tehtaiden sulkemista todennäköisenä että vain ihme voi pelastaa Varkauden tehtaan Stora Ensolla on kolmannes liikaa tuotantoa kysyntään nähden yhtiön paperin kokonaistuotanto on 1,5 miljoonaa tonnia Päällystämättömän hienopaperin kysyntä on pudonnut vuodesta 2007 viidenneksellä