Woodpolis is an active player in promoting wood construction and developing the wood products industry. Projects play a central role in this development work—Woodpolis has played an almost uninterrupted role as a project partner for several decades. Woodpolis is also well-connected to other project partners, such as educational institutions, and is a member of the national PuuSuomi network, among others.
Current projects:
The WOOD+ project is driving the sustainable wood industry
The City of Kuhmo has launched the Responsible Kuhmo Woodpolis Wood Products Cluster (WOOD+) development project, which strengthens the Kuhmo Woodpolis wood products cluster and promotes a responsible, competitive, and growth-oriented wood industry. The project is an ERDF project co-financed by the European Union and approved by the Elinvoimakeskus, and it will be implemented from March 2, 2026, to February 29, 2028.
The total budget for the project is €314,382, of which the City of Kuhmo’s own contribution is €47,268. The City of Kuhmo is responsible for the implementation and coordination of the project.
Key measures
- Developing responsibility and resource efficiency
- Strengthening business cooperation and expertise
- Developing business operations and markets
- Increasing communication and visibility
Objectives and impacts
The project aims to improve the competitiveness of businesses, create new business and exports, and increase material efficiency while reducing emissions. At the same time, it strengthens regional vitality.
WOOD+ serves simultaneously as a strategic development project, an operational management tool, and a concrete platform for business development.
Ismo Mäkeläinen serves as project manager and Heli Susanna Helenius as project coordinator. The project team will immediately begin collaborating with companies and will plan the most effective development measures together with the stakeholders.
Opportunities in industrial wood construction and the bioeconomy
- Eastern Finland is an excellent location for increasing the added value of the wood-based value chain, building high-quality exports, and developing expertise
- Abundant wood raw material reserves provide a strong foundation for industrial further processing
- Sawmill capacity does not limit the increase in the degree of processing—as leading companies, they create a strong foundation for development
- Companies, R&D actors, and public entities are ready for networking and joint development,
- The region already possesses extensive expertise in industrial wood construction
- Opportunities for exports and marketing
- There is enormous potential in the value chain of wood by-products
- Incorporate market dialogue more strongly into public procurement
- The courage to make climate- and economically-smart decisions
Completed projects
- Itäpuu Project
- A New Ecosystem for the Forest Bioeconomy in Kainuu May 1, 2021 – August 31, 2023
- Kuhmo’s Wooden Social and Health Services Center September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2022
- Health Effects of Wood Construction 07/01/2019 – 04/30/2021
- Woodpolis2020 (A73459) 01/01/2018 – 12/31/2020
- Sustainable Development of the Kantola Area Project (A71246) July 1, 2015 – March 31, 2017.
- RunkoPES and CLT Training Project (S20384) – December 31, 2017
- Building Kainuu’s Future with Wood 2016–2018
- Wood Builder 2014–2016
- Wood-Kainuu 2014–2015
- Development of producer-based small-scale housing construction 2014–2015
- New business chains in wood construction 2013–2015
- Development of expertise in prefabricated and apartment building construction 2013–2015
