Paper and pulp clamps and forklifts are essential parts of forest product logistics. These machines and systems support the delivery, movement, and final handling of products, working with precision to avoid even the slightest crinkle in the paper. This equipment performs these tasks a thousand times a day in warehouses and on docks from Helsinki to Hong Kong.

While the producers are concerned about sourcing the pulp, and the traders are working to get the product to the markets, and the logisticians, in between, are enabling the movement, there remains a certain considerable aspect of the supply chain, and that is the equipment providers who make sure that pulp and paper can be lifted, stacked, and stored wherever the supply chain intends. 

Pekka Hanni, Industry Sales Manager, Pulp & Paper at Auramo, thoroughly understands this and has spent much of his professional life thinking about paper clamps. He will tell you, without a trace of irony, that clamps are genuinely interesting and foundational to the growth of the pulp and paper industry. 

Pekka Hanni, Industry Sales Manager, Pulp & Paper at Auramo (Pic Credit: Auramo)

“Auramo products are technologically advanced and combine steel structures with hydraulics, electrical systems, and intelligent automation”, Pekka informs. Even though Pekka is situated in Auramo’s Sales Department, he is a mechanical engineer by training, so he is well-versed in the detailed specs, the technological jargon, and how the equipment is actually developed. 

His interest in engineering was sustained from early childhood, where gears, cogs, machines, and tools had always fascinated him. Initially, Pekka joined Auramo in 2006 but left in 2012 to pursue new challenges. However, he kept in touch with the company’s management and returned in 2021. In a Finnish manner, he speaks about his professional journey very matter-of-factly but exudes more animation when discussing the technology that powers this equipment.

Engineers are what make Auramo, and his expertise functions as a critical bridge; he notes, “In fact, many members of our sales team have engineering backgrounds because our products are highly technical. Mechanical engineering provides an excellent basis for understanding customer needs and finding the right solutions”.

Auramo's site in Finland (Pic Credit: Auramo)

Auramo has a long history in equipment handling, dating back to 1947 when the company initially focused on importing forklifts into Finland. Over time, the company began designing its own forklift attachments to meet customers’ needs. 

“Since Finland has long had a strong forest products industry, there was a demand for specialized solutions, which led to the development of our extensive expertise in paper-handling attachments”, he states.

In 2001, Auramo joined the Bolzoni Group, a worldwide leader in manufacturing handling equipment. Today, the Bolzoni Group comprises three brands: Bolzoni, Meyer, and Auramo. However, these brands have separate interests, he clarifies: “For example, Meyer specializes in multi-pallet handlers, Auramo focuses on forest-product attachments, and Bolzoni manufactures a broad range of other attachment solutions”.

Within the Bolzoni Group, there is also a complementary brand called Silverline, which delivers cost-effective simple standard products in low-capacity range. Pekka systematically explains, “These products are designed in Europe and manufactured in China to provide robust, economical solutions for customers seeking standard equipment in limited low-capacity range rather than customized attachments.”

Historically, Auramo also manufactured attachments for industries beyond pulp and paper, but after joining Bolzoni, the company sharpened its focus on forest product handling, where it had long held strong expertise. 

Bale Clamp (Pic Credit: Auramo)

Furthermore, Auramo built a dedicated manufacturing facility for producing forest-product attachments, strengthening its specialization in this area. Located in Järvenpää, 40 km north of Helsinki, this state-of-the-art plant employs skilled individuals producing technologically advanced machinery. Being situated in Finland, an essential part of the EU forest industry, benefits the company greatly.  

However, a few years ago, the Finnish forest industry was severely affected by sanctions on Russia at the onset of the Ukraine-Russia war. Pekka recalls, “The sanctions against Russia greatly impacted the Finnish forest products industry. Since Finland had previously imported a substantial amount of wood from Russia, those imports stopped when the sanctions came into effect. This prompted the manufacturing plants to seek more domestic sources or identify alternate international supply chains, causing both sourcing challenges and production costs to increase.”

Even exports from Finland to Russia collapsed, shutting down cross-border logistics. “Before then”, he continues, “Bolzoni Group used to have a branch in Russia, which we closed following the outbreak of the war. We have also stopped selling attachments to Russia altogether. As a result, Russia effectively disappeared as a market for us”.

“As a global company, we deliver attachments worldwide, so we have put more effort into areas where we have had a smaller footprint to balance out the loss of the Russian market”, adds Pekka. A wide network across four continents allows Bolzoni to manage challenges flexibly.

Pekka also notes a market trend: declining demand for graphic paper and rising demand for packaging paper and board products. These changing trends also leave an impression on the handling industry, he acknowledges: “This trend is reflected in our business as well, particularly in the growing size requirements for handling attachments, since larger paper and board rolls require different handling solutions.”

He also adds, “Auramo's business model differs somewhat from direct equipment suppliers because we primarily sell our attachments through forklift manufacturers and dealers. These partners combine our attachments with forklift trucks and offer complete solutions to end users. As a result, they are generally responsible for offering different financing, leasing, and service contract options to customers”.

Market fluctuations affect Auramo in varying ways. Pekka clarifies, “Sometimes one can expect project postponements due to operational costs or market uncertainty. Sometimes additional equipment is needed to support temporary peaks in demand or urgent operational needs”. For these periods, Bolzoni Group also offers rental equipment. “Customers do not always need to purchase new equipment if the requirement is short-term. We can provide attachments from our rental fleet for periods as short as one month if necessary”, but they always have to consider matching the customer’s specific application, since many of their products are highly customized.

Equipment and attachment technology are constantly evolving to meet industry needs. Already since the early 90s, Auramo has offered “intelligent paper roll clamps capable of collecting operational data”, such as handling pressure and whether there has been any slippage. But this process was not so smooth.

“The problem was that extracting this data required specialized software and a physical connection to the machine, which made the process inefficient”, he admits. 

But now they have developed a new series of paper roll clamp models with electric-assist options, from which they can collect various parameters of clamp operations, depending on the delivered scope. With this new technology, they can collect measured data from the clamp and transfer it automatically to the cloud in real time. Electric assistance options with data logging should be available at the end of this year in our new paper roll clamp series.

New Generation AR-C Paper Roll Clamp with Integrated Working Lights and Electric Assistance Features (Pic Credit: Auramo)

Data transfer was earlier available only in premium intelligent CTX paper roll clamps, but he remarks, "Improvements in connectivity and data transfer now make these solutions much more practical and accessible for a larger range of attachments."

Pekka reports, “customers will be able to track operational parameters, predict maintenance needs, and make sure that the equipment is handling product safely and without damage”.

There is also a human dimension that propels Auramo equipment to move towards automation. The logistics industry has struggled with high turnover and a lack of skilled drivers. For example, drivers have difficulties selecting the correct clamping force to be used for paper rolls. Auramo paper roll clamps can be equipped with automatic clamping pressure adjustment systems that ensure the correct clamping force is applied regardless of the operator’s experience. Also, Auramo clamps can be equipped with electric-assist features that ease and speed up forklift drivers' work.

“At Auramo, we follow a customer-centric philosophy. Efficient, easy, safe, and damage-free handling is the foundation of our product design, development, and manufacturing processes”, he emphasizes, and so they are continuously working towards this goal.

Since customers are at the center of their business practices, networking naturally emerges as a meaningful endeavor. “Industry events also provide opportunities to meet both existing and potential customers. While many attendees are already known to us, or have heard of us, we often do find ourselves being introduced to new companies as well”, he reflects.

Pekka also considers that networking allows his industry to “anticipate future material handling needs and better understand how customer requirements are evolving.” Gathering this information is critical since it also shapes their future projects. Ultimately, the knowledge and relationships gained through networking play an important role in helping Auramo remain competitive and prepare for future market developments.

What Pekka shines light on is the fact that across hundreds and thousands of warehouses across the globe handling paper, the clamps and the forklifts are present every step of the way, supporting the ground workers and functioning to make sure that the roll of paper is moved gently, safely, precisely, and without damage.