- Business
- UPM-Kymmene Oyj is a Finnish forest-based bioindustry company that develops and manufactures sustainable material solutions from renewable feedstocks, including renewable fibres, advanced materials, decarbonization solutions, and communication papers. Founded in 1996 through the merger of Kymmene Corporation and Repola Oy with its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd, the company is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and operates 54 production plants across 11 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, and internationally. Its core business areas encompass UPM Fibres, which produces responsibly sourced pulp grades for tissue, specialty paper, board, printing, writing, and hygiene applications as well as certified sawn timber; UPM Energy, which generates zero-carbon electricity from hydropower, nuclear, and thermal power sources alongside portfolio management services; UPM Adhesive Materials (formerly UPM Raflatac), which supplies self-adhesive label and packaging materials; UPM Specialty Papers, offering release liner base papers and advanced paper grades; UPM Communication Papers, providing printing and writing papers; and UPM Plywood, manufacturing birch and softwood plywood products; with additional offerings in biochemicals such as glycols, lignin products, and renewable functional fillers, biofuels, biocomposites, and biomedical products. UPM serves diverse industries including printing, packaging, construction, food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, media, and energy, with leading global market positions in several segments. In recent developments, UPM signed a long-term strategic partnership with Versowood in September 2025, involving the sale of its Korkeakoski sawmill in Finland for enhanced pulpwood supply; initiated a strategic review of UPM Plywood in September 2025 to explore options like divestment or demerger; announced plans to discontinue production at its Nancy, France facility and invest in growth in the U.S., Malaysia, and Vietnam through UPM Adhesive Materials; decided to end paper production at UPM Kaukas mill in Finland by end-2025 and sold the Plattling paper mill site in Germany; permanently closed the Ettringen paper mill in Germany; acquired Metamark in February 2025 to bolster UPM Adhesive Materials; commenced a share buy-back program repurchasing 6 million shares for €160 million; discontinued development of a potential biofuels refinery in Rotterdam to refine its biofuels strategy; and advanced its Leuna, Germany biochemicals biorefinery to industrial-scale production of sugars and lignin by end-2025 with glycols slated for 2026.