Ekman & Co

What Ekman & Co does

Ekman & Co AB, headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, is one of the world's oldest continuously operating trading houses, founded in 1802. The company is privately held by the Ekman family and its employees, with CEO Jan Svensson leading operations and a board historically chaired by Matts Ekman (2000–2024). It operates as a forest products intermediary, organizing the global trade of pulp, paper, packaging, recovered materials, bioenergy (notably wood pellets), and plastic resins through six business divisions: Pulp, Paper & Packaging, Recovered Materials, Bioenergy, Innovare (a product-facilitator unit focused on sustainable forest innovations), and Plastics.

The company does not rely on proprietary software or technology platforms; instead, its competitive foundation is 220+ years of accumulated relationships, counterparty trust, market intelligence, and a physical and contractual network spanning approximately 40 owned sales offices and partners in over 100 countries. Regional hubs in Gothenburg, Miami, Hong Kong, Zurich, and Wall coordinate cross-border flows. Operations are supported by integrated business support services covering finance, logistics, IT, document handling, market information, warehouse administration, transportation insurance, inventory financing, legal, and compliance. Recent strategic activity has tilted toward vertical integration through M&A — Roll Products S.r.l. (2022, now Ekman Italia, providing rewinding operations) and Allan Morris Recycling (2024, a 75,000 MTPA paper recycling facility in North Wales).

Ekman earns revenue primarily through trading margins and transaction fees on commodity forest product flows; FY2024 operating revenue including agency sales reached USD 2,374 million across 3.674 million tons of trading volume, though reported net income after financial items was only USD 9 million, reflecting the inherently thin margins of intermediation. The customer base is highly diversified across paper mills, packaging manufacturers, recovered-materials processors, bioenergy producers, and plastics converters globally, with no disclosed concentration in any single counterparty. The firm holds an extensive stack of sustainability certifications (FSC, PEFC, SFI, SBP, RCS, ISO 9001) and AQSIQ licenses for China trade, which have become procurement prerequisites in many institutional supply chains.

Name

Ekman & Co

Legal name

Ekman & Co AB

Website

https://ekmangroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1802

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Ekman & Co AB is a privately held Swedish forest products trading house, founded in 1802, operating 6 divisions (pulp, paper & packaging, recovered materials, bioenergy, plastics, Innovare) across ~40 offices in 100+ countries, serving paper mills, packaging manufacturers, recyclers, and bioenergy producers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forest Products Trading

NAICS

Paper and Paper Product Merchant Wholesalers (4241), Lumber, Plywood, Millwork, and Wood Panel Merchant Wholesalers (42331)

SIC

Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Forest Products Import/Export & Commodity Merchants (IMAMAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pulp & Wood Fiber Trading (IMAMAIAE), Recycled Fiber, Recovered Paper & Secondary Fiber Trading (IMAMAIAK), Wood Residuals & Biomass Trading (Chips, Pellets, Sawdust, Bark) (IMAMAIAJ)

Keywords

• Pulp trading services
• Forest products trading
• Paper packaging distribution
• Recovered materials trading
• Bioenergy commodities trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Gothenburg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Forest Products Trading: Ekman generates revenue through trading margins on forest products including pulp, paper, packaging materials, recovered materials, bioenergy (wood pellets), and plastics. The company facilitates international trade by providing logistics, financing, credit insurance, and administrative services to paper mills and manufacturers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ekman & Co is a global trading house that facilitates international trade in forest products, including pulp, paper and packaging, recovered (recycled) materials, bioenergy (wood pellets/biomass), and plastics. The company connects producers and consumers across more than 100 countries, providing integrated supply chain services such as sales, marketing, financing, credit and insurance, logistics, document handling, warehouse administration, IT integration, and legal/compliance support.

Product overview

Ekman & Co AB operates as a global trading house with a portfolio of six interconnected business divisions covering the entire forest products supply chain. The Pulp Division (world's largest independent pulp trader) forms the core offering, complemented by Paper & Packaging, Recovered Materials, Bioenergy, Plastics, and the youngest Innovare Division focused on sustainable product innovation. Business Support Services provide integrated finance, logistics, IT, legal, and compliance capabilities. The company also operates subsidiary Ekman Italia with rewinding and conversion services, and acquired Allan Morris Recycling (March 2024) to expand recovered materials operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pulp Division The Pulp Division is present in all major geographic areas and provides the world's largest independent pulp trading services, including sales and marketing, financing, credit and insurance, logistics, and back-office administration for pulp producers and paper mills.
• Paper & Packaging Division Global trading of a wide spectrum of paper and packaging grades, with a focus on growth in industrial and consumer-grade packaging materials while maintaining presence in printing and writing segments.
• Recovered Materials Division Trading of recovered (recycled) paper and materials across continents, with capacity to ship over one million tons per year, capital investment in supplier equipment upgrades, and trading flexibility in a dynamic global business.
• Bioenergy Division Provides wood pellet and biomass trading expertise, assisting business partners in entering the biomass business from design and planning through to end users in the heating and power markets.
• Innovare Division Product facilitator that identifies, scales, and commercializes new sustainable products, partnerships, and networks that create value within the forest industry.
• Plastics Division Trading and supply of virgin and recycled plastic resins (PET, PE, PP, PA, PC, ABS), partnering with leading polymer producers and recyclers to provide sustainable material solutions.
• Business Support Services Complete range of services for the forest products industry including finance, logistics, IT integration, document handling, market information and research, warehouse administration, transportation insurance, inventory handling and financing, legal, and compliance.
• Rewinding Services (Ekman Italia) Cutting and rewinding services at the San Giuliano Milanese facility (Italy) using three rewinding machines, processing kraft paper, test liner, duplex, white top liner, newsprint, offset paper, and paperboard.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Allan Morris Recycling (AMR)coreOthers · 26 March 2024Ekman acquired Allan Morris Recycling, a paper recycling facility in Deeside, North Wales, UK, as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The 75,000 MTPA capacity facility operates under its existing name and continues with Managing Director Carl Robertson leading operations. The acquisition aims to create long-term value, improve supplier and customer satisfaction, and leverage AMR's advanced facilities to strengthen Ekman's market presence.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Mondi Group: UK-listed integrated paper and packaging group with significant pulp, containerboard, and flexible packaging operations. Comparable in pulp and packaging exposure to Ekman's Paper & Packaging and Pulp divisions.
• Marubeni Corporation: Japanese general trading company (sogo shosha) with a long-standing pulp, paper, and forest products business. Like Ekman, it combines commodity trading with global logistics and financing capabilities, though forest products are a smaller share of total revenue.
• UPM-Kymmene: Finnish forest products group operating in pulp, paper, plywood, biofuels, and labelling. Overlaps with Ekman in pulp, packaging, and bioenergy, but is a vertically integrated manufacturer rather than a trading intermediary.
• Itochu Corporation: Japanese sogo shosha with a substantial pulp, paper, and forest products trading division and global office network. Comparable business model as a commodity trading house intermediating forest products across borders, though operating across many other commodity verticals.
• Stora Enso: Integrated Finnish-Swedish forest products company producing pulp, paper, packaging, and biomaterials. Comparable as a major Nordic forest products player with overlapping pulp and packaging exposure, though Ekman is a trader/distributor rather than a manufacturer.
• Mercer International: North American producer of market pulp with operations in Germany and Canada. Comparable on the pulp side of Ekman's business, supplying many of the same paper mill customers, but Mercer is a manufacturer, not a trading house.
• Sappi Limited: Global coated paper and dissolving pulp producer with European, North American, and South African operations. Direct overlap with Ekman's pulp and paper trading customers, although Sappi is a producer rather than a trader.

Direct peers

• International Forest Products (INTERFOR): One of the largest independent lumber and forest products traders globally, with North American sawmilling and global wood-product distribution. Direct comparability with Ekman's pulp, lumber, and forest products trading activities, although INTERFOR is more vertically integrated into sawmilling.

Emerging players

• Woodbois International: Africa- and Europe-focused hardwood lumber trading and processing company. Compares to Ekman's smaller-scale forest products trading activities in hardwood lumber and biomass, though with a narrower geographic and product footprint.

Others

• Louis Dreyfus Company: Privately held global commodity merchant trading agricultural, metals, and other soft commodities. Similar merchant/trading house business model with global offices, financing, and logistics capabilities, though not active in forest products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Ekman & Co