Helen Oy’s Salmisaari power plant produces electricity and heat for tens of thousands of properties in the capital region. FB Ketju’s conveyor chains have been a part of the process at the wood pellet and coal operated power plant for four decades.
Helen has counted on FB Ketju, located in Lappi, Rauma, because service security and reliability are extremely important for the facility that produces critical functions for the society. Helen’s maintenance engineer Jimi Saastamoinen describes the collaboration with FB Ketju as easy and adaptable.
– FB Ketju is the main manufacturer of all the chains at the plant. Material transport chains are used in energy production to move fuel from a ship to the silos and from the silos to the boiler for burning. The chains have an important role because material does not move without them, Saastamoinen explains.
The large chain stock increases performance reliability
Especially in the winter when the demand for heat is high it is not possible to wait for new chain parts from suppliers for extended periods of time. Saastamoinen explains that Helen prepares for breakdowns by always having the most critical chain parts in stock. In the worst case, production could be stopped for days without spare parts.
– Although FB Ketju always delivers to us quickly according to our needs, we always have to have parts for many different chains in stock. That way we can make repairs quickly and avoid interruptions in production.
FB Ketju maintains a database of chains and spare parts they have supplied for Helen which also increases service security. As the information of the necessary parts can be found easily in the database, the operations become even more efficient.
Saastamoinen has noticed that the oldest chain parts supplied by FB Ketju found in storage are from the 1980s. It is evidence of the long-standing collaboration as well as the long lifespan of the domestic chain parts manufactured with high quality.
Partnership serves and accommodates
Helen respects the long and reliable collaboration with FB Ketju. Domestic products, service security, adaptability and service are important values for both companies.
– Ketju’s chains are a reliable and reasonably priced option for us. We have always received great service and Ketju is adaptable and delivers the chains we specifically want. We can also affect the quantities and delivery times, Saastamoinen states.
Foreign operators have not even been considered for tenders because according to Saastamoinen, a domestic operator located a couple of hundred kilometres away is a significantly better option in every way.
Saastamoinen also praises FB Ketju for maintaining customer relations. Markus Lahtinen from technical sales calls and visits Helen regularly.
– They always react quickly and when Markus visits us, he tells us how Ketju is doing, and I tell him what may be coming up soon and what needs we may have.
– Doing business in person is more people-oriented and natural and that is why personal meetings are important. I want to meet our customers, see who I am doing business with, and we can do that with Jimi, Lahtinen summarises.
Did you know:
- Helen’s Salmisaari power plant produces 160 MW of electricity and 300 MW of heat
- Salmisaari power plant’s district heat heats tens of thousands of properties in the capital region
- The power plant was completed in 1984
- FB Ketju has supplied various conveyor chains for Helen since the 1980s
- The most recent chain delivery included robust plate chains with a width of approximately 1.5 metres for the coal dispenser – dozens of metres in length and several tonnes in weight in total
- The chains supplied by FB Ketju include, for example, the robust conveyor chains and drop forged link chains
- In addition to fuel, FB Ketju’s chains also transport ash away from the boiler