The international PulPaper 2022 event for the forest industry will be organised from Tuesday to Thursday, 7 – 9 June 2022 at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. The event consists of an exhibition with about 250 participating companies and programme entirely in English. The programme is presented at Future Square on the exhibition area and the event has two paid seminars, the PulPaper Conference and Green Economy Business Summit. The event also offers a multitude of networking opportunities.

THE ENTIRE PROGRAMME OF PULPAPER 2022 HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
The PulPaper event was previously held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre in the spring of 2018. Virtual pre-PulPaper was held in 2021 as an online event. Now, after four years, it’s possible to meet once again at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. In connection with the event, an afterwork event will be organised on opening day June 7 on the event area and an evening event on June 8 at Helsinki Music Centre. The PulPaper Award, funded by the Finnish Fair Foundation, will be presented to a Start-up company at the evening event.

Seven companies participate in the Start-up competition

The first stage of the Start-up competition will take place 10.00 AM on Wednesday June 8 at Future Square, while the final will take place at 2.15 PM. The winner will be announced at the evening event. Participants in the first stage are Dry and Durable, Fincet, Montinutra, Natural Antivirals, Silva Trace, Tapio Measurement Technologies and Woodio. The competition brings forth new and significant solutions in the field of forest bioeconomy.

Dry and Durable has developed a water and dirt repellent plastic-free barrier material for packaging. Fincet’s product Tool4pro is an easy-to-use application for industrial work and project management. Montinutra uses sawdust as raw material in the preparation of Sprucegum™ extract for use in the cosmetics, techno chemical and even food industries. Natural Antivirals’ innovation is an antiviral ingredient from Finnish forests used in cosmetics. The user interface developed by Silva Trace shows the logging method, carbon footprint, certificates and other sustainability information that the forest owner wants to share. Tapio Measurement Technologies has developed hardware independent PapEye CloudQCS – SaaS platform for analysis of image and measurement data files. Woodio’s eco-design products are made from a fully water-resistant wood composite designed as an ecological alternative to ceramics and stone materials. The winner will be rewarded with a cash prize of EUR 5,000 funded by the Finnish Fair Foundation.

Top presentations at Future Square, programme free of charge for visitors

The opening speech of PulPaper will be given by Professor Ilkka Kilpeläinen from the University of Helsinki, winner of the Marcus Wallenberg Prize in 2022. He will speak about the possibilities of wood-based textiles. There will be company presentations on the stage of the event area. The programme is produced by, among others, the forest industry companies Metsä Group, Sappi, Stora Enso and UPM.

The keynote speech on consumer trends, The ”great man” is a little man looking at the good map, will be presented by Professor Mika Pantzar from the University of Helsinki on opening day June 7. New Wood project’s award ceremony will be held on opening day, when it will be announced which wood-based product or service has received the most votes from the public.

Wednesday June 8 introduces the panel discussion From residue to revenue – innovations and solutions from forest and biobased industry. Participants in the discussion are Director Marko Janhunen/Public Affairs UPM, Head of Innovation Åsa Ek/Biomaterials Stora Enso, Director Sarah Price/Sustainability, Sappi Europe and Managing Director Ismo Nousiainen/Metsä Fibre. The panel is facilitated by CEO Teija Konttori from Vision Hunters Oy.

On Thursday June 9, the keynote-speech Succeeding as a woman in a male-dominated industry will be given by motorsport athlete and Formula 1 commentator Emma Kimiläinen.

PulPaper Conference highlights six themes

The themes are IT and Automation, Environment and Sustainability, Safety and Risk Management, New Textile Products, Efficiency and Packaging Solutions. There will be three keynote speakers at the conference. EVP, Head of Division Packaging Materials Hannu Kasurinen from Stora Enso speaks about Key trends in sustainable packaging. The second keynote speech topic is Sustainability leading company strategy presented by EVP, Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs Riikka Joukio from Kesko. EVP, Head of Management Consulting Roland Lorenz from AFRY is the third keynote speaker with the topic Changes in consumer behavior following COVID pandemic. After the opening presentations, the conference will continue in two parallel sessions with three topical expert presentations on each of the six themes. Participation in the PulPaper Conference costs EUR 380 and tickets can be purchased at www.pulpaper.fi 

Green Economy Business Summit for the first time

Aimed at business management and stakeholders, the Green Economy Business Summit opens up green economy from companies’ perspective. At the event there will be discussions about how to ensure adequate economic well-being while reducing the burden on the environment. The summit will be opened by Managing Director Mika Aalto of the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland. The main keynote speech Circular bioeconomy – a sustainable source of growth will be held by Jyrki Katainen, President of Sitra. The second keynote speech Chemicals industry, green transition and resilience for the EU economy will be held via video link by Thierry Breton EU Commissioner for the Internal Market. Kristin Schreiber Director, European Commission will be on site at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre to answers possible questions.

Participants in the panel discussion How to reach sustainability and climate neutrality at company level are President and CEO Ilkka Hämälä/Metsä Group Oyj, Managing Director Salla Roni-Poranen/Borealis Polymers Oy, EVP, Carbon Neutral Solutions Jussi Manninen/VTT and Home Care Chief R&D Officer Mike Parkington/Unilever. The panel will be facilitated by journalist Katri Makkonen. Green Economy Business Summit’s closing speech will be held by Director, Chief Economist Maarit Lindström from Finnish Forest Industries. Participation in the summit costs EUR 250 and tickets can be purchased beforehand at www.pulpaper.fi.

Messukeskus organises the PulPaper event in cooperation with The Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association 7 – 9June 2022. The event is open Wednesday and Thursday 7 – 8 June from 9 AM to 5 PM and Thursday 9 June from 9 AM to 4 PM. Professionals in the business can register to the event free of charge at www.pulpaper.fi. 

ChemBio Finland and Helsinki Chemicals Forum for the chemical and biotechnology industry will be organised at the same time, 8 – 9 June 2022, at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. Visitors registered for PulPaper can also visit the ChemBio Finland -event.