In connection with SmurfitKappa's annual shutdown, a new driving surface was built in warehouse 4 at Haraholmen. The material is concrete, with one third of the cement replaced with ash from SmurfitKappa Kraftliner's solid fuel plant.
The unloading in warehouse 4 has in the past year begun to show minor damage in the form of potholes, cracks and small stones that have come loose from the asphalt. This has now been addressed with a new surface of 23 cm of rolled concrete, compared to the old asphalt which was approximately 11 cm. This not only provides a more stable and even surface, but also that the concrete itself is a completely new concept and completely in line with the sustainability work that is underway in large parts of the municipality. Approximately 30% of the cement in the concrete has been replaced with ash from SmurfitKappa's solid fuel plant. Ordinary clean wood ash has been shown to have all the properties that are sought when mixing concrete. Furthermore, all laboratory tests show that the concrete maintains the same quality at a lower cost while being more environmentally friendly, says Lars Wikström, infrastructure manager at Piteå Hamn AB. The project will be evaluated and if everything goes as planned, warehouse 5 and the road between the warehouses will be next.