Prometec to Deliver Automated Wood Raw Material Quality Control System to MM Kotkamills
27.10.2026
Prometec Tools Oy will deliver a Q-Robot automated sampling robot with an integrated automatic moisture measurement system to MM Kotkamills’ mill in Kotka, Finland. The delivery will also include an automated wood chip size and bark content analyzer, as well as a weighbridge. With this investment, MM Kotkamills aims to automate sampling and quality control in the receiving process for sawdust and wood chips.
MM Kotkamills’ integrated mill in Kotka produces paperboard and laminate paper. The mill site also includes wood handling operations. The new system will be installed in the wood raw material receiving area, where it will provide more comprehensive and consistent information about the quality of incoming raw materials.
Prometec’s Q-Robot will automatically collect samples from incoming truckloads of sawdust and wood chips before unloading.
The objective of automated sampling is to improve sample representativeness, eliminate sampling errors associated with manual sampling, and enhance occupational safety.
Sample representativeness is particularly important when determining wood chip quality. Fines and bark are not necessarily distributed evenly throughout a truckload, meaning that the sampling method can significantly affect the composition of the sample submitted for analysis.
The Q-Robot automatically transfers the collected sample to an analyzer that determines dry matter content, wood chip dimensions and size fractions, and bark content. The measurement system can identify and analyze various wood chip fractions, including oversized and overthick chips, acceptable chip fractions, pins, and fines.
Sampling, measurements, and data transfer form a fully integrated and automated quality control process. The system will be connected to the mill’s information systems, allowing load-specific sampling data, measurement results, vehicle identification information, and weighing data to be combined into a single dataset.
All information will be available in near real time, even before the truck is unloaded. This enables load-specific quality data to be used immediately for logistics management, material flow optimization, and improving the efficiency of other processes.
Integrating Quality Data into Wood Raw Material Procurement
“When we have more accurate information about the quality of the raw materials we receive, we can better align our procurement activities with the actual needs of production and further develop our raw material sourcing strategies.
It is also important that we can provide our suppliers with reliable, load-specific, and even near-real-time quality feedback. This enables them to improve their supply chains and quality management processes with minimal delay.
One practical example could be a significant temporary increase in the bark content of wood chips when freezing temperatures arrive,” says Hannu Honkanen, Director of Wood Raw Material Procurement at MM Kotkamills.
In addition to dry matter content, wood chip size distribution, the proportion of fines, brightness measurement, and bark content are essential quality parameters for wood raw materials. Automatically generated measurement data can be used to monitor raw material quality and further develop wood procurement operations.
“The most significant benefit of automation is not simply the reduction of manual work required for sampling.
What really matters is that the mill systematically receives reliable information about what each incoming raw material load actually contains.
By combining automated sampling, analysis, and load-specific data, quality information can be directly utilized to improve wood raw material procurement and receiving operations,” says Juha Huotari, CEO of Prometec Tools Oy.
For Prometec, this delivery represents an important step into raw material quality control applications within the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry.
The company has been supplying automated sampling systems for industrial applications for more than ten years. However, this is Prometec’s first delivery in which its technology will be used for raw material sampling in the paper and paperboard industry.
About Prometec
Prometec is a Finnish technology company that develops and supplies automated sampling and raw material quality measurement solutions for demanding industrial environments.
Prometec’s solutions help customers improve material quality control, optimize processes, and reduce operating costs by providing reliable and representative information about incoming raw materials.
About MM Kotkamills
MM Kotkamills manufactures high-quality paperboard from renewable wood-based raw materials for food packaging and other demanding applications, as well as laminate paper for the production of construction and interior design materials.
With more than 150 years of industrial heritage, the Kotka mill combines long-standing expertise with modern manufacturing as part of the international MM Group.
For Further Information
Juha Huotari
CEO, Prometec Tools Oy
Tel. +358 50 591 7350
Hannu Honkanen
Director of Wood Raw Material Procurement, MM Kotkamills
Tel. +358 40 540 5032
