International Forest Products

What International Forest Products does

International Forest Products LLC (IFP) is a privately held physical commodity trading firm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kraft Group, the diversified family-controlled conglomerate founded by Robert Kraft. Established in 1972 and headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts, IFP operates as North America's largest physical trader of forest products commodities, moving more than 4 million tons of pulp and paper grades annually and exporting 120,000 TEUs in 2023 across more than 100 countries.

IFP's product portfolio spans eight commodity categories — containerboard, pulp, recovered fiber, solid wood products, paperboard, printing and writing papers, graphic papers, and bio-energy under the INFERNO wood pellets brand — complemented by an integrated five-service stack: sales and marketing representation, finance and credit (currency hedging, letters of credit, credit risk assumption), transportation and logistics handling 4+ million tons annually, proprietary operations and IT (online order processing, EDI order monitoring), and market intelligence (customized trade-lane analytics). The proprietary technology backbone comprises an online order processing and accounting system, EDI for end-to-end order status visibility, and a market intelligence platform for macroeconomic and trade-lane evaluation. The affiliation with Kraft Group manufacturers Rand-Whitney Group, New Indy Containerboard, and Carolina Container provides uncommon technical troubleshooting and capacity-support capabilities versus pure brokers.

Revenue is generated through transactional margins on physical commodity trades executed in both local currencies and US dollars, with each transaction layered with financing, logistics, and risk-management services. IFP goes to market through directly-staffed international offices and a global network of exclusive sales representatives, serving a horizontally-segmented customer base of mills, suppliers, and converters in the global forest products industry including packaging manufacturers and solid wood consumers. Pricing is quote-based and relationship-driven, with extended payment terms and credit risk assumption serving as competitive levers against commission-based brokers.

Name

International Forest Products

Legal name

International Forest Products LLC

Website

https://ifpcorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

International Forest Products (IFP), founded in 1972 by Robert Kraft, is a privately held physical forest products commodity trader and Kraft Group subsidiary. IFP trades more than 4 million tons of pulp, paper, and solid wood products annually across 100+ countries as North America's largest physical forest products trader.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forest Products Commodity Trading

NAICS

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

SIC

Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials (5030)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging Papers & Converted Paper Distribution (Corrugated sheets/boxes, Paper bags, Labels, Stationery) (IMAMAIAI)

Keywords

• Forest products trading
• Pulp and paper commodities
• Containerboard distribution
• Solid wood products
• Commodity trade finance

Headquarters

HQ city

Foxboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Forest Products Commodities Trading: IFP trades a wide range of forest products commodities including containerboard, market pulp, recycled fibers, printing & writing papers, paperboard, flexible packaging, logs, lumber and panel products. The company operates as a physical trader buying and selling in local currencies as well as US dollars.
2. Financing Services: IFP provides financing services including extended payment terms, assumes credit risk for sourcing mills, and bridges gaps for customers. They hedge against currency fluctuations and work with letters of credit and bank collections.
3. Transportation & Logistics Services: Arranging cost-effective and reliable carriage for all shipments, evaluating transit schedules, overseeing orders from placement to arrival, determining best shipping methods and carriers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IFP is a global physical trader and mill representative for forest products commodities, buying and selling containerboard, market pulp, recovered fibers, printing & writing papers, paperboard, graphic papers, flexible packaging, logs, lumber and panel products across more than 100 countries. The company complements physical trading with bundled services including sales & marketing, international trade finance (currency hedging, letters of credit, credit risk assumption), transportation & logistics (ocean chartering, marine insurance, cargo supervision), proprietary order processing/EDI operations, and macroeconomic and trade-lane market intelligence.

Product overview

International Forest Products (IFP) is North America's largest physical trader of forest products commodities, founded in 1972 by Robert Kraft. The company operates as a global commodities trader rather than a unified software platform, offering a portfolio of forest product categories including Containerboard, Pulp, Recovered Fiber, Solid Wood Products, Paperboard, Printing & Writing papers, Graphic Papers, and Bio Energy products. These products are complemented by services including Sales & Marketing (operating as mill representatives across 100+ countries), Finance & Credit (currency hedging, letters of credit, credit insurance), Transportation & Logistics (handling over 4 million tons annually), Operations & IT (proprietary order processing systems), and Market Intelligence. The company maintains global reach through subsidiary offices and exclusive sales representatives worldwide, conducting business in more than 100 countries annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• INFERNO Wood Pellets: IFP's signature brand for the North American home heating market, servicing the market for more than a decade

Products and services

• Containerboard Physical trading of containerboard products ranging from 80 gsm to 440 gsm, including virgin kraft and recycled linerboard, kraft top linerboard, wet strength linerboard, white top linerboard, fully bleached linerboard, clay coated linerboard, semi-chemical corrugating medium, recycled medium, and high performance medium. Customers include paper and packaging converters globally.
• Pulp Physical trading of a comprehensive pulp portfolio including bleached softwood kraft, bleached eucalyptus kraft, bleached hardwood kraft, fluff pulp (including FDA grade), dissolving pulp, unbleached kraft pulps, bleached sulfite pulps, BCTMP, post-consumer deinked pulp, blend pulps, non-wood fiber based pulp, specialty pulps, and off-quality pulp. Supplied to global pulp end-users.
• Recovered Fiber Sourcing and trading of secondary fibers through the Global Recovered Fiber Group (GRFG), including US grades (over-issue news, old magazines, commercial OCC, sorted office paper, coated book stock, mixed paper, old corrugated containers) and European grades (A2 Mixed Papers, EOCC, news and pams, OINP, carrierkraft). Supplied to mills and converters.
• Solid Wood Products Global solid wood distribution offering lumber (West Coast species, Southern Yellow Pine, South American and South African Pine, European Spruce and Pine), panels (North and South American plywood, specialty plywood, OSB, MDF, particleboard, hardboard), and logs from North America, South Africa, South America, and eucalyptus from Africa and South America. Includes the Price & Pierce UK distributor acquired in 2019.
• Paperboard Physical trading of the full range of paperboard products including Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS), Folding Boxboard (GC1, GC2, RC, Natural Kraft), cupstock, liquid packaging board, PET board, dual ovenable board, clay coated recycled board (CRB), duplex board, coated unbleached kraft (CUK), cast coated board, and recycled C1S with grey and white back. Supplied to packaging and printing converters.
• Printing & Writing Papers Physical trading of a broad range of printing/writing and specialty papers including office and business papers, tablet/forms/envelope, coated printing papers, tag/index/bristols, offset and opaques, digital printing papers, label papers, and thermal papers.
• Graphic Papers Physical trading of full graphic and specialty paper grades including newsprint and directory papers (standard and improved), uncoated and coated mechanical papers for offset, flexo and roto printing, uncoated and coated woodfree papers, and uncoated and coated specialty papers (MF, MG, C1S, WOGR).
• Bio Energy (INFERNO Wood Pellets) Wood pellet products for the North American home heating market under the INFERNO brand, distributed from regional production centers to retail outlets with global connections to leading industry players.
• Sales & Marketing Services Mill representative services for forest products producers, operating through an international network of offices and local sales personnel in 100+ countries. Provides market intelligence, supply availability, and pricing trend assessment to mills, suppliers, and converters in the global forest products industry.
• Finance & Credit Services International finance services supporting forest products trading, including local currency and USD transactions, currency hedging, letters of credit, bank collections, credit insurance, extended payment terms, and credit risk assumption for sourcing mills.
• Transportation & Logistics Services Transportation expertise for cost-effective and reliable freight arrangement, including ocean chartering, contracts of affreightment, cargo supervision, service contract negotiations, marine insurance, and documentation. Handles more than four million tons of product annually.
• Operations & IT Services Proprietary online order processing and accounting system with EDI monitoring from order placement to completion, supported by dedicated operations and IT professionals to maintain close contact with transaction parties around the clock.
• Market Intelligence Services Macroeconomic analysis of factors impacting global trade, detailed evaluation of specific trade lanes, customized analytical platforms identifying market trends and opportunities, and trade compliance monitoring with a licensed Customs broker on staff.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.

• BigBear.aistrategicTechnology or Integration · 9 January 2026BigBear.ai partnered with IFP to enhance supply chain transparency using AI-enabled insights. The collaboration is in an assessment phase focused on evaluating how advanced analytics can improve operational performance and decision-making across IFP's global forest products trading operations. This marks BigBear.ai's expansion into commercial operations beyond its defense and national security focus.
• The Kraft GroupcoreOthersIFP is a member of The Kraft Group of companies. The Kraft Group, headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts, is a holding company for the Kraft family's various businesses with interests in paper and packaging manufacturing, sports and entertainment, real estate, private equity, and philanthropy. IFP operates alongside Rand-Whitney Group and other Kraft Group companies.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Domtar: North American pulp, paperboard, and lumber producer with global commercial reach. Comparable to IFP given the shared focus on pulp, paperboard, and solid wood products for global converter and packaging customers.
• Mercer International: Global pulp and solid wood producer with sales networks across North America, Europe, and Asia. Comparable to IFP through its market pulp product line and international sales footprint serving similar converter and packaging end-markets.
• Mondi Group: Integrated pulp and paper group with significant containerboard, paperboard, and packaging product lines, plus global trading and merchant operations. Comparable to IFP because of overlapping product portfolio (pulp, containerboard, paperboard), global customer base, and merchant/distribution capabilities across Europe and emerging markets.

Broad incumbents

• Smurfit Westrock: Global paper-based packaging leader formed from the WestRock-Smurfit Kappa merger, with significant containerboard, paperboard, and recycling operations. Comparable to IFP through overlapping containerboard, paperboard, and recovered fiber product lines and global trading flows.
• Sonoco Products: Diversified global packaging company with paperboard, recycling, and protective packaging operations. Comparable to IFP through shared paperboard and recovered fiber categories and a customer base of converters and consumer goods companies.
• Stora Enso: European integrated forest products major with pulp, paperboard, packaging, and biomaterials divisions. Comparable to IFP through market pulp, paperboard, and solid wood product overlap and broad European/Asian sales coverage.
• UPM-Kymmene: Major European forest products company with broad pulp, paper, and bioenergy exposure. Comparable to IFP through its pulp, graphic papers, and bioenergy product lines and global sales footprint, though UPM is a vertically integrated producer rather than a pure trader.
• International Paper: Largest US-based pulp and paper producer with significant containerboard and packaging operations. Comparable to IFP through overlapping containerboard and pulp product categories, US export exposure, and large-scale tonnage movement in global trade lanes.

Regional players

• Klabin: Brazilian integrated pulp, paper, and packaging producer with significant Latin American and export operations. Comparable to IFP through overlap in containerboard, paperboard, and market pulp, and given IFP's active Latin American (Brazil/Curitiba) operations and Latin America containerboard trade lanes.

Others

• Graphic Packaging Holding Company:

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-forest-products

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 International Forest Products