In the midst of restructuring, Europe’s forest industry is increasing the efficiency of its current processes and further improving its products. Kemira brings its strong know-how in water and fiber management chemistry to this development work.
Growth is dying down on the mature paper markets in North America and Western Europe: demand and supply do not meet and the market for printed media is changing thanks to the Internet revolution. Increasing raw material and energy prices as well as the recession set on by the economic crisis also add to the challenging situation the European forest industry is facing.
- Forest companies must improve the profitability of their current operations while quickly developing future products, says Lars Gädda, Research Director at Forest Cluster that promotes co-operation in forest industry research and innovations in Finland.
The shareholders of Forest Cluster include the forest companies UPM, Stora Enso and Metsäliitto. Metso and Kemira are among the representatives of forest industry machine and chemical suppliers.
Strengthening the value chain
Gädda feels that closer cooperation throughout the forest sector is crucial. The value chain, including machine and chemical suppliers, the paper industry and printing and publishing houses should work together to develop products that interest the end customer.
- The entire value chain must be healthy. If any part of it is unwell, the entire chain functions poorly, Gädda points out.
The paper industry is still growing in Asia. South America has become the world’s most significant pulp producer. Developing markets have their own challenges, however.
In Asia, European companies compete with strong and modern local players. The product and operating cultures are also different. Thus success in Asia cannot be based on export; the companies must have market presence.
Sustainable chemistry
In a world of climate change and limited resources the challenges of sustainable development, such as efficient use of water resources, is becoming increasingly important. Johan Grön, Kemira’s Executive Vice President for R&D and Technology, believes that environmental issues will have a clear monetary value for companies in the future as well.
- Sustainable development will be extremely important in terms of water – defining a ‘water footprint’ and the efficiency of water use are becoming hot topics because there are limited water resources in the world, Grön says.
For Kemira, sustainable development and sustainable chemicals mean new business opportunities.
- We have a versatile product portfolio and an opportunity to affect areas of paper production that require focus now. Paper industry processes must produce more. Water, fibres and energy should be utilized much more efficiently than so far. Kemira plays a central role in this scenario.
This is a summary of an article published in Just Add, Kemira's stakeholder magazine's issue 04/2008.
Text by Katariina Lampinen