Innovation Inspired by Biotech and Microbiology

Finland's forests, covering about 75 % of our land area, teem with abundant natural ingredients - from Arctic peat to willow bark extract.

Finland is the sixth largest producer of paper and board. The forests and the forest industries combined, account for for about 7 % of the country's gross domestic production and approximately of our tangible export.

This treasure box of raw materials combined with advanced technological know-how and strategic biotech engineering will catapult new forest based super brands to the market.

Collaboration to stay competitive:

• universities
• research laboratories
• independent consultants
• applied research
• sharing expertise
• productive partnerships

The traditional downstream forest product industries in Europe, North-America face increasing competition from new products and new regions.

Innovative research and development in Finland elsewhere will help us to rise to these challenges.

Nothing stays same in a dynamic globalising world of emerging economic powers and increasing stream of new products competing with established goods.

• the weakening US dollar is changing trading patterns
• US export to Europe will increas
• weakening buying power in US affects Asian consumer goods production
• Chinese and Asian paper mills will become active in Europe as well
  

To deal with these challenges, we help forest industries to add value to their traditional products with the help of research and innovation.

• focusing research
• transnational research
• reallocating existing resources
• investing new assets into areas most relevant to economy and society
• sustainable solutions
• good and effective strategic choices
• cooperation of traditional forestry and innovative networking strategy partners

Where can we make an impact?

1. Energy and the environment
2. Metal products and mechanical engineering
   
3. Health and well-being of the P&P employees and machine operators
4. Information communication manufacturing and services
5. The forest cluster

Unique innovations needed to make traditional forestry industries in high-cost countries profitable again:

• New structures of the programs
• Coordination of international research cooperation can be complex
• Each country has different research organizations and mechanisms to oversee and fund research programs and activities
• Long term strategic research and innovation
• The forest technology platform
• Coordinate and integrate research programs
• Instruments and tools needed for cooperation and integration between local and global programs
  

Research related to forest sector in Finland covers a far wider set of product types than in other countries. In the past, research on the European level was also fragmented and resources wasted.