Long partnership pays off / Yara Suomi

Long partnership pays off

Voimatel and Yara (before 2007, Kemira Grow How), which is located in Siilinjärvi, have been cooperating for many years. Several projects have been carried out for the mine and the factory.

 

– Yara has cooperated with Voimatel since the company was established. The services purchased include maintenance and failure service for the electricity distribution network. Voimatel has also played a significant role in power distribution investment projects at Yara’s site in Siilinjärvi, elucidates Matti Pekkarinen, Electricity Manager at Yara.

In recent years, Voimatel has provided the paste plant under construction with a temporary power service and on-site lighting, carried out installation work for the substation of the new drilling facilities and participated in the building of a power supply for the explosives depot and the recirculation pump station in Raasio. Voimatel has also implemented a project in which mine lighting was improved by adding sixty 1,000 W floodlights and building substations to secure their power supply.

At the Siilinjärvi factory of Yara, Voimatel was contracted to provide electricity for the Saarinen mining area, which included overhead lines, cabling and substations. In connection with various projects, three traffic lights have been built for the mine to secure traffic to the work site.

– In recent years, a couple of 10 kV cabling projects and some road lighting projects have been completed for the factory, adds Kimmo Räbinä, Electricity Network Project Manager at Voimatel.

An open and confidential atmosphere is the cornerstone of long-term cooperation. People trust Voimatel’s expertise.

– Yara does not carry out the construction of the electricity distribution network and all maintenance work itself, and therefore, it is important that Yara has a competent and trusted partner to ensure the trouble-free supply of electricity to the factories and the mine, says Matti Pekkarinen.

 

 

PastePlant project successfully completed

In 2016, Voimatel took care of Yara’s extensive PastePlant project which comprised the construction of a 20 kV electricity distribution network at the Yara mining site. For Yara, the construction of a 20 kV distribution network and a fibre network was a major investment. The investment also included a new substation and a recirculation pump station for transferring electricity to the paste plant.

Yara’s Electrical Manager Pasi Raatikainen is pleased with their choice of contracting partner and comments that it was a sum of many things.

– Competition is tough and when choosing the contractor, price was not the only consideration. We also looked at past experience in contracting, safety culture and attitude to safety, quality of work, and resources to manage the electricity distribution project in question within the agreed timetable and cost limits. After several rounds of negotiations, we chose Voimatel Oy.

– Having monitored their work and checked the results, I can honestly say that we picked the right partner, adds Raatikainen.

Safety at work was handled through several WOC discussions and safety inspections on site, and Raatikainen is satisfied with the manner of solving daily occupational safety issues during the project.

– The employees’ attitude is clearly correct. Workplace accidents and close calls did not occur in the Project.

 

Voimatel invests in the safety of the employees

Those employed at the Yara mine work under challenging conditions. However, the safety of workers and subcontractors is not compromised, and preventive measures are taken to avoid accidents. Voimatel also strives to continuously improve the safety of its employees at Yara and other places.

According to Matti Pekkarinen, Voimatel’s staff has well grasped Yara’s safety requirements and performed safety inspections reveal that safety issues are in order and everyone has the right attitude towards safety.

“Competition is tough and when choosing the contractor, price was not the only consideration. We also looked at past experience in contracting, safety culture and attitude to safety, quality of work, and resources to manage the electricity distribution project in question within the agreed timetable and cost limits, and evaluated the capacity to produce high quality work. After several rounds of negotiations, we chose Voimatel Oy.”

Pasi Raatikainen, Electricity Manager
Yara Suomi Oy