Metsä Group

What Metsä Group does

Metsä Group is a Finnish forest industry group structured as a cooperative owned by approximately 90,000 Finnish forest owners. It operates through five business areas — Metsä Forest (wood supply and forest services), Metsä Wood (engineered wood products including Kerto LVL), Metsä Fibre (pulp, sawn timber, and biochemicals), Metsä Board (fibre-based packaging boards), and Metsä Tissue (tissue and cooking papers) — with Metsä Spring acting as an innovation arm developing biomaterials. The group serves industrial customers in packaging, construction, paper, textile, and consumer end-markets globally.

The group's core products span softwood and hardwood pulp, sawn timber, Kerto LVL and plywood engineered wood, folding boxboard and food-service boards, tissue products, and proprietary biomaterials including Muoto molded fiber, Kuura textile fiber, Metsä LigO lignin, and a wood-based carbon capture process. Production is anchored on world-scale assets deployed through more than EUR 6 billion of capex since 2015, most notably the EUR 2 billion Kemi bioproduct mill (1.5 million tonnes annual capacity) and the EUR 370 million Mariestad tissue mill. Its packaging subsidiary Metsä Board is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, while the parent remains cooperative-owned.

Metsä generates revenue through B2B sales of pulp, paperboard, engineered wood, and tissue to industrial converters, brand owners, and construction customers, complemented by consumer-facing tissue brands. The cooperative model provides vertically integrated wood supply from member forests and underpins a global leadership position in sustainability ratings (EcoVadis Platinum, CDP Triple A). In 2025, the group reported EUR 5.8 billion in revenue but recorded a full-year loss of EUR -85 million amid cyclical pressure, prompting a EUR 300 million cost-savings programme with up to 800 job reductions alongside continued investment in new mills and biomaterial platforms.

Name

Metsä Group

Legal name

Metsä Group (operating name of Metsäliitto Cooperative)

Website

https://metsagroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Metsä Group is a Finnish cooperative-owned forest industry group (approximately 90,000 forest owner-members) producing pulp, packaging board, engineered wood, tissue, and biomaterials, serving industrial and consumer customers globally with EUR 5.8 billion in annual revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Espoo

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices25 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wood supply and forest services (Metsä Forest): EUR 2.5 billion sales; 600 personnel; 100% owned by Metsäliitto Cooperative. Generates revenue through wood trade with owner-members and external customers, forest management services, and nature management services.
2. Wood products (Metsä Wood): EUR 0.5 billion sales; 1,600 personnel; 100% owned by Metsäliitto Cooperative. Sells Kerto LVL, birch/spruce plywood, Finnjoist engineered wood products globally via direct sales and distribution partners.
3. Pulp and sawn timber (Metsä Fibre): EUR 2.6 billion sales; 1,400 personnel. Ownership: Metsäliitto Cooperative 55.2%, Metsä Board 24.9%, ITOCHU 19.9%. Sells softwood/hardwood pulp, sawn timber (pine/spruce), biochemicals (crude tall oil, crude sulphate turpentine), and bioenergy globally.
4. Paperboard (Metsä Board): EUR 1.8 billion sales; 1,900 personnel. Ownership: Metsäliitto Cooperative 52% (69% of votes). Premium fresh fibre paperboards (folding boxboard, food service board, barrier board, white kraftliner) sold B2B to packaging converters and brand owners globally.
5. Tissue and greaseproof papers (Metsä Tissue): EUR 1.1 billion sales; 2,400 personnel; 100% owned by Metsäliitto Cooperative. Consumer brands (Lambi, Serla, Mola, Tento, Katrin, SAGA) plus professional tissue and greaseproof baking/cooking papers (BAKE and PACK series) sold globally.
6. Sustainable/green financing: EUR 200 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (5-year tenor) with syndicate of eight banks, tied to sustainability targets of zero fossil CO2 emissions by 2030 and 100% certified wood supply by 2030.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Metsä Group is a Finnish forest industry cooperative-owned group operating five business areas that produce and sell wood-based industrial products: Metsä Forest (wood supply and forest services to ~90,000 owner-members), Metsä Wood (engineered wood products including Kerto LVL, plywood, and Finnjoist), Metsä Fibre (market pulp, sawn timber, and biochemicals), Metsä Board (premium fresh-fibre folding boxboards, food service boards, barrier boards, and white kraftliners), and Metsä Tissue (consumer and professional tissue papers plus greaseproof baking papers under brands Lambi, Serla, Mola, Tento, Katrin, and SAGA). The innovation arm Metsä Spring develops next-generation wood-based bioproducts such as Muoto molded fiber packaging, Kuura textile fiber, and Metsä LigO lignin.

Product overview

Metsä Group is a Finnish forest-industry group organised as a cooperative-owned platform of five business areas plus the innovation company Metsä Spring. Metsä Forest supplies wood trade and forest services to owner-members; Metsä Wood produces engineered wood products (Kerto® LVL, Kerto-Ripa® elements, birch and spruce plywood, Finnjoist I-joists); Metsä Fibre produces pulp (hardwood and softwood), sawn timber and biochemicals such as Metsä Crude Tall Oil and Metsä Crude Sulphate Turpentine; Metsä Board produces premium fresh-fibre paperboards (folding boxboards, food-service boards, barrier boards, white kraftliners); and Metsä Tissue produces consumer and professional tissue papers (brands Lambi, Serla, Mola, Tento, Katrin) and greaseproof papers (SAGA). The innovation arm Metsä Spring develops new wood-based bioproducts including Muoto™ moulded-fibre packaging, Kuura® textile fibre and Metsä LigO™ lignin, providing a pipeline of next-generation products that complement the existing five business areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Metsä Forest: Wood supply and forest services business area offering wood trade and forest management services to forest owners.
• Metsä Wood
• Metsä Fibre
• Metsä Board
• Metsä Tissue
• Metsä Spring
• Lambi
• Serla
• Mola
• Tento
• Katrin
• SAGA
• Kerto
• Muoto
• Kuura
• Metsä LigO

Products and services

• Wood supply and forest services (Metsä Forest) Wood trade, forest management, and nature management services supplied by Metsä Forest to approximately 90,000 forest owner-members of the parent Metsäliitto Cooperative and external customers in Finland.
• Kerto LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) Premium laminated veneer lumber produced by Metsä Wood for load-bearing applications in floors, roofs, walls, and modular construction.
• Kerto-Ripa elements High-performance prefabricated floor, roof, and wall elements combining Kerto LVL with a rib structure for fast and material-efficient construction.
• Birch plywood Birch plywood panels produced by Metsä Wood at the Punkaharju, Suolahti, and Pärnu mills for structural and visual applications.
• Spruce plywood Spruce plywood panels from Metsä Wood for construction, commercial-vehicle, and trailer applications.
• Finnjoist (I-joist) Engineered wood I-joists for floor and roof applications in light-frame construction.
• Market pulp (hardwood and softwood) Hardwood and softwood market pulp produced by Metsä Fibre for downstream paper, board, and tissue manufacturers worldwide.
• Sawn timber Pine and spruce sawn timber produced by Metsä Fibre at four sawmills in Finland for construction, joinery, and packaging uses.
• Metsä Crude Tall Oil (CTO) Crude tall oil extracted as a side-stream of pulp production, sold to refiners for bio-based fuels, lubricants, and chemicals.
• Metsä Crude Sulphate Turpentine (CST) Crude sulphate turpentine separated from pulp cooking liquors, sold as a renewable feedstock for bio-based solvents and fragrances.
• Folding boxboards (FBB) Premium fresh-fibre folding boxboards for beautycare, healthcare, food, and consumer-goods packaging, including the MetsäBoard Pro FBB Go + FastTrack solution.
• Food service boards Food-service-grade paperboards for cups, plates, lids, and takeaway packaging, including recyclable fibre-based alternatives to plastic lids.

Quantifiable outcome

• 79% reduction in fossil-based CO2 emissions from 2018 to 2025
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• AmcorflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Strategic collaboration to develop all-in-one fiber-based packaging solution for protein and chilled ready-meal applications. Combines Amcor's AmFiber paper-based packaging and barrier film technology with Metsä Spring's Muoto molded fiber, using G. Mondini's Trave Streamline machine. Solution offers recyclable packaging alternative with fibre recovery rate exceeding 80%; demonstrated live at Interpack 2026 in Düsseldorf (May 7-13). Positions Amcor as a systems partner rather than purely a packaging supplier.
• G. MondiniflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Food packaging equipment provider partnering with Amcor and Metsä Group in the same fiber-tray collaboration. Contributes machinery capabilities (Trave Streamline machine) for tray-and-film combination format. Three-way co-development for food industry applications.
• AndritzcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Technology partner for wood-based carbon capture pilot and demonstration at Rauma (2025); demonstrated sufficient technology maturity for upscaling. Also equipment supplier for Metsä LigO lignin demo plant in Äänekoski (cooperation on 2 tonnes/day demo plant). First commercial carbon capture plant (~100,000 tonnes CO2/year) pre-engineered for Rauma.
• DowcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2026Key partner for developing bio-based plasticisers for concrete and gypsum applications from Metsä LigO modified lignin. Cooperates with Andritz (equipment) for Metsä LigO demo plant operations at Äänekoski.
• Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025Wilhelm Wolff (Metsä Group EVP Strategy and Investments) joined TVO's Board of Directors on December 10, 2025, succeeding Esa Kaikkonen. TVO operates the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, providing clean energy aligned with Metsä Group's fossil-free energy strategy.
• SC Johnson (via Amcor)minorOthers · 16 May 2025Indirect customer/end-user relationship: Amcor and Metsä Group collaborated to develop molded fiber trays with film liner and lidding for food applications (referenced as expected commercial availability in Europe in 2025); SC Johnson separately launched refillable packaging for Method/Mrs. Meyer's products in partnership with London Drugs.
• ITOCHU CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Japanese trading partner collaborating on Kuura textile fibre demo project. Also holds 19.9% ownership in Metsä Fibre. Supports Asian market access for Metsä Group's pulp and bioproducts.
• ValmetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Technology partner for Muoto molded fiber packaging solutions demo project at Metsä Spring. Collaborates on converting wet pulp directly into 3D packaging products.
• University of OuluminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership agreement for long-term research cooperation conducted as coordinated separate project entities; supports R&D&I activities across Metsä Group business areas.
• University of HelsinkiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership agreement for long-term research cooperation conducted as coordinated separate project entities; supports R&D&I activities across Metsä Group business areas.
• FortumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2020ExpandFibre collaboration and ecosystem (announced June 2020) to accelerate sustainable bioproducts development; Business Finland is funding the cooperation with total EUR 70 million. Develops technologies and business concepts for textile fibres and new bioproducts from straw and wood pulp.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Stora Enso: Finnish-Swedish forest products group operating across pulp, paperboard, biomaterials and wood products with comparable vertical integration and biorefinery strategy; the closest direct competitor to Metsä Group in Nordic fresh-fibre paperboard and engineered wood.
• UPM-Kymmene: Finnish forest industry group producing pulp, paper, plywood, biofuels and label materials; directly comparable in pulp/paperboard, biorefinery strategy (Leuna biofuels) and Finnish cooperative-adjacent ownership profile.
• Mondi: UK-listed European integrated paper and packaging group with operations in containerboard, kraft paper and uncoated fine paper; competes head-to-head with Metsä Board in fresh-fibre and recycled paperboard markets.
• Sappi: South African-headquartered global pulp and coated/coated-specialty paper producer with European mills; overlaps with Metsä in dissolving pulp, coated paperboard and biomaterials development.
• SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget): Swedish forest products company owning extensive Nordic forest assets and producing pulp, publication paper and solid-wood products; direct comparable in pulp, sawn timber and forest ownership economics.
• Smurfit Westrock: Global paper-based packaging leader formed by the 2024 Smurfit Kappa / WestRock merger; competes with Metsä Board in containerboard and corrugated packaging and brings significant scale advantages in paper packaging.
• Suzano: World's largest hardwood pulp producer and major eucalyptus-based paperboard player; benchmark peer for Metsä Fibre's market pulp business and a comparable low-cost integrated pulp/paperboard operator.
• Billerud: Swedish-American specialty paper and packaging board producer resulting from the BillerudKorsnäs / Verso merger; direct competitor in fresh-fibre folding boxboard and barrier board markets targeted by Metsä Board.

Broad incumbents

• International Paper: World's largest pulp and paper group with broad portfolio across containerboard, corrugated and cellulose fibres; relevant peer for scale benchmarking of Metsä's pulp and paperboard operations even though its footprint is more US-centric.

Emerging players

• Klabin: Brazilian integrated pulp, paper and packaging producer with growing kraftliner and containerboard footprint; comparable to Metsä's fresh-fibre kraftliner strategy and a potential competitor in Latin American export markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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• Xx.com/MetsaGroup

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Metsä Group