- Business
- Kemira Oyj is a Finnish chemicals company that develops and supplies sustainable chemical solutions for water-intensive industries, including water treatment, pulp and paper, and energy sectors. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the company operates globally in over 100 countries with approximately 4,700 employees, production sites, research centers, and sales offices worldwide. It serves municipal water utilities, pulp and paper producers, board and tissue manufacturers, industrial water users in food and beverage, manufacturing, healthcare, metals, mining, and energy, as well as fiber-based materials producers for packaging, textiles, and nonwovens.
Kemira organizes its business into three main units—Water Solutions, Packaging & Hygiene Solutions, and Fiber Essentials—offering coagulants, polymers, and water treatment chemicals for raw water clarification, wastewater treatment, sludge dewatering, friction reduction, mining processes, and oil recovery; pulp bleaching and processing agents, wet-end chemicals, and fiber treatment products for packaging, board, tissue, and novel fiber applications; renewable barrier coatings like PHA for paper and molded fiber packaging; industrial process aids for resource efficiency and sludge valorization; and digital services via KemConnect for process optimization. The company maintains key manufacturing and R&D facilities in Finland alongside a network of local technical support and distribution partners to ensure tailored, compliant solutions that reduce water use, environmental impact, and costs while enhancing product quality.
In recent strategic developments, Kemira renewed its operating model effective January 2025 into the three customer-facing business units with a restructured Group Leadership Team under President and CEO Antti Salminen to boost customer centricity, growth, and efficiency, including centralized Operations, refocused Research & Innovation, and a New Ventures & Services unit. The company signed a USD 150 million agreement in September 2025 to acquire Water Engineering, Inc., a U.S.-based specialist in boiler, cooling tower, and industrial wastewater treatment services, expected to close by year-end and double water revenues long-term. Additional moves include a partnership with CuspAI for PFAS removal innovations and expansion of sodium borohydride production capacity at its Äetsä site in Finland to meet pharmaceutical demand.