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A strong wood building ecosystem makes Finland an excellent location for the wood building industry and element manufacturing for global markets.
HIGH RISING PROSPECTS
Wood construction is a fast-growing industry in the Nordic countries and industrial wood building is gaining momentum in Finland. Finland is Europe’s most heavily forested country with 86% of its land area under forest. The growth potential for sustainable harvesting is currently 60%, which means substantial opportunities for production.
In Finland, wood solutions enjoy a strong position in the construction sector, and the use of wood as a building material is widely embraced. We have well-managed, certified forests that produce high-quality wood at competitive prices. There are currently about 170 industrial sawmills in Finland that operate year-round and export their products globally. A strong wood building ecosystem makes Finland an excellent location for the wood building industry and element manufacturing. We see fine opportunities for companies that have top-level knowledge in wood frame construction and special structures and who can provide efficient industrial manufacturing capacity for their solutions. There is strong potential to develop new building systems, either independently or jointly with a local company base that offers domestic networks and knowledge. Companies can benefit from the highly skilled workforce and prospects for development and investment funding.
ECOSYSTEM OF GROWTH
The largest industrial log house manufacturers in the world are Finnish companies. We have the tradition, knowledge and industries in place for optimizing wood usage. New players, both domestic and international, have entered the market, reflecting and capitalizing on the new growth opportunities. One example is Austrian company Binderholz Group which acquired Vapo Timber’s sawmills in Nurmes and Lieksa.
CLT production has increased in Finland recently. CrossLam Kuhmo Ltd was the first company starting CLT production in Finland. CLT Finland Ltd started production in 2017 and City Plant Ltd is starting in 2018. Metsä Wood has increased LVL production in Finland. Finnish company Sisco manufactures massive wood modules from Metsä Wood’s LVL panels in modern factory near Helsinki. Also Stora Enso produces LVL in Varkaus plant. There is also increasing number of element manufacturing around CLT, LVL and other industrial wood elements in Finland.
5 IDEAL WAYS TO ENTER THE FINNISH WOOD CONSTRUCTION MARKET:
CO-INVESTING
PARTNERING
CONSTRUCTION
PREFABRICATION OF BUILDING ELEMENTS
REFINING OF RAW MATERIAL
FINNISH WOOD INDUSTRY FACTS
7 BILLION EUROS = TOTAL PRODUCTION VALUE OF THE WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
2.5 BILLION EUROS = VALUE OF WOOD PRODUCTS EXPORTS
80 MM3 = SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING POTENTIAL
90% OF FINNISH FORESTS ARE PEFC CERTIFIED
170 INDUSTRIAL SAWMILLS
250 WOODEN HOUSE AND LOG HOUSE MANUFACTURERS
FINLAND OFFERS FOREST BASED WORLD CLASS EXPERTISE
Finland is the most forested country in Europe. Forests account for as much as three quarters of Finland's surface. And their volume is growing, thanks to our ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable forestry. As the growth potential for sustainable harvesting is currently 60%, there are plenty of possibilities for additional production.
Forests are the soul of Finns and also their bread and butter. Ordinary Finns own a huge portion of Finnish forests. Family forest ownership is a success story, and it has great significance for the national economy. Finland has long traditions in sustainable forestry and almost all Finnish forests are certified. Finnish forest management relies exclusively on tree species native to Finland. The most common and economically important trees are spruce, pine, and birch.
SLOWLY GROWN WOOD FOR MANY APPLICATIONS
The Nordic environment has given Finnish wood some special features. Finland belongs to the cold climatic belt in which sub-zero winters alternate with warm summers. The summer season lasts only 100 days, during which the trees grow. The short growing season means slow growth, which provides the best possible straight-grained timber: branches are few, and those that exist are small.
Finnish softwood is a versatile, recyclable, and low-carbon material for various applications. It is very popular all over the world, especially in visible end-use applications. In addition to sawn timber, Finnish sawmills have also extensive know-how in engineered wood products, such as cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber. The world’s largest log house manufacturers come from Finland and we have a strong ecosystem in industrial wood building, from certified forests to prefabricated elements.
REFINING BIOMASSES AND STRONG INDUSTRIAL FRAMEWORK
Finland is in an outstanding position to develop forest-based products. It has always been necessary for Finnish people to live by the terms of nature and to adapt their technologies to nature's scarcity and ability to renew itself. Over the decades, we have accumulated considerable expertise in refining biomasses and a strong industrial framework.
The forest industry actively searches for new products based on wood material: plastics, composites, liquid fuels, nanocelluloses and lignin, medicines, and textile fibres can already be produced from wood. Wood-based bioenergy can substitute fossil fuel energy. The forestry industry produces most of their energy from wood residues coming from the processes.
Source: Invest in Finland
Invest in Finland is the official investment promotion agency for Finland. Working with Invest in Finland means you will receive the most relevant and up-to-date industry insights and professional recommendations when considering business expansion.
Website: www.businessfinland.fi