UPM-Kymmene

UPM-Kymmene Oyj engages in the forest-based bio industry. It operates through UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Communication Papers, UPM Plywood, and Other operations segments. The company provides softwood, birch, and eucalyptus pulp for tissue, specialty, and graphic papers and packaging; sawn timber for joinery, packaging, furniture, planning, and construction industries; and wood-based renewable diesel and renewable naphtha for the petrochemical industry. It is also involved in the generation of electricity through hydro and nuclear power plants. In addition, the company offers self-adhesive label materials for branding and promotion, information, and functional labelling in the food, beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, and logistics segments; and label papers, release base papers, office papers, and flexible packaging for labelling, packing, commercial siliconizing, and printing, as well as graphic papers for advertising, publishing, and home and office use. Further, it provides plywood and veneer products for construction, vehicle flooring, liquefied natural gas shipbuilding, and parquet manufacturing, as well as for other industrial applications; wood and wood-based biomass, and forestry services for forest investors and owners; wood-based lignin products for industrial use and cell hydrogels for 3D cell culturing; UPM ProFi decking products and UPM formi granules; and biomedical products. The company primarily operates in Europe, North America, Asia, and internationally. UPM-Kymmene Oyj was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

The company's oldest mill was Papeteries de Docelles located in northeastern France, which produced traditional handpaper at the end of 15th century. The mill got its first paper making machine in the 1830s. UPM Docelles was disbanded in 2014.The company has a long tradition of forest industries in Finland. There the company's first paper mills and sawmills were put into operation in the beginning of the 1870s. Pulp manufacturing began in the 1880s and paper converting in the 1920s. The company started manufacturing plywood in the 1930s. Several Finnish forest industry companies have merged with the forerunner companies of UPM, such as: Walkiakoski, Jämsänkoski, Kaukas, Halla, Kajaani, Toppila, Kymmene, Kuusankoski, Kymi, Voikkaa, Lohjan Paperi Oy, Wilh. Schauman, W. Rosenlew, Raf. Haarla and Myllykoski.The company logo, the griffin, was designed by Hugo Simberg in 1899. It is probable that the griffin was chosen as the company logo because it represents a guardian of the northern forests. The griffin logo is the oldest continuous company logo in Finland.

Due to worldwide overproduction of paper UPM announced a cost reduction program in 2006. Voikkaa paper mill in Kuusankoski was closed. Nearly 3,000 employees in Finland were laid off. After the closure the area has been transformed into Voikkaa business area.The Miramichi paper mill in New Brunswick, which UPM acquired in 2000, was closed in 2007. Also a number of plywood mills and sawmills were closed during the years. In December 2008 UPM closed Kajaani paper mill and Tervasaari pulp mill . 1,100 employees were laid off. The former premises of the Kajaani mill were turned into a business park called Renforsin Ranta.During the decade, UPM also sold many businesses such as Walki Can, Walki Sack, Loparex Group, Walki Wisa, Rosenlew and Puukeskus.

At the same time, UPM invested in other businesses and acquired Fray Bentos pulp mill and Forestal Oriental in Uruguay , Chudovo plywood mill in Russia and Otepää plywood mill in Estonia . The production of label materials expanded to Poland, Brazil, China and the US. UPM Biocomposites business was established in 2007.

The overcapacity continued in graphic paper business and in 2011, UPM acquired Myllykoski Corporation and Rhein Papier GmbH, which consists of seven publication paper mills in Germany, Finland and the United States. In France, UPM closed Stracel paper mill in 2013 and Docelles paper mill in 2014. Madison paper mill in the USA was closed in 2016.The Schwedt paper mill in Germany was sold in 2017. Specialty paper production expanded to China and Germany in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Kaipola paper mill in Finland was closed in 2020.

In July 2019, UPM announced that it will invest US$2.7 billion in a eucalyptus pulp mill near Paso de los Toros in central Uruguay. The production capacity will be 2.1 million tonnes of eucalyptus pulp. The new pulp mill is scheduled to start up by the end of Q1 2023.

In January 2020, UPM announced that it will invest EUR 550 million in an industrial scale biorefinery to convert solid wood into next-generation biochemicals: bio-monoethylene glycol and lignin-based renewable functional fillers. The biorefinery will also produce bio-monopropyleneglycol and industrial sugars. The total annual capacity of the biorefinery will be 220,000 tonnes. The facility is scheduled to start up by the end of 2023.

We create value by seizing the limitless potential of bioeconomy.

We lead the forest-based bioindustry into a sustainable, innovation-driven, and exciting future. The competence, integrity and drive of our people make us unique.