Nordea's chief economist Wind Birch made the US president the chief chef of world uncertainty.
"One person now has so much power and he also has a lot of momentum. Every day something new can come, worse or better. We don't know what will happen." Trump strives.”
According to Koivu, Trump is trying to solve a problem that does not exist with tariffs.
"I don't think the deficit is really a problem. Trump has blamed the previous administration for everything and is feeding the willow tree that the economy is doing badly, even though the last three years have been really good for workers."
According to Koivu, labor productivity is the most important factor, and the US has done well in this. The US is also boldly developing new technologies, unlike, for example, the EU.
The USA is Finland's largest export country, but Koivu reminds us that a significant part of our exports to the United States consists of services.
"And at least so far Trump has been silent about them. Tariffs are certainly harmful, but we can handle, for example, a 10 percent level, they are already included in our basic forecasts."
Instead of tariffs, the most worrying thing is general uncertainty.
"All the things that are now being tested in the US are the legal system, the universities, and the position of the central bank. If the US economic system starts to crumble because of that, it will be a much worse thing than the tariffs."
The degree of refinement must be increased
CEO of Fiberwood Oy Tage Johansson emphasized the uniqueness of wood as a raw material. At the same time, he called for an increase in the degree of processing.
“Wood is such a versatile material that you can make anything out of it. Yet half of the wood raw material is still burned.”
Founded in 2019, the materials technology startup has developed technology and a production process for the production of fossil-free building insulation and packaging materials. It obtains its raw materials from side streams of the forest industry.
The company is entering the commercial phase and is aiming for international growth. The location of the planned factory is still open.
Johansson also has experience in the valley of death, where many dry up and become exhausted while chasing funding.
"Three out of ten startups somehow manage and seven fail. Also, too many promising startups end up with foreign ownership because there is not enough risk-taking capacity in Finland."
Johansson also criticized companies' RDI desires and capabilities.
“The total RDI investments of Finnish companies are currently around 5,5 billion euros per year. That is too little to achieve growth.”
Kemira CEO Antti Salminen highlighted wood-based fibers as the only way away from fossil raw materials.
"We need to forget the current turbulence. Megatrends offer tremendous opportunities for biofiber-based products in the future. We also need to constantly innovate so that we can offer sustainable and competitive chemical solutions to the production value chain."
Project Manager for Metsä Group's carbon dioxide project Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen According to the company, the commercialization of biogenic carbon dioxide is possible, but building a production value chain is challenging. The potential product is not yet clear, as there is no real market yet. Next, Metsä Group will test carbon dioxide capture at the Rauma pulp mill in the summer of 2025.
Director of VTT's New Products and Materials Business Unit Tua Huomo presented the research and innovations carried out at VTT – the kind that Finland's sustainable future needs.
CEO of the Finnish Wood Products Industry Association Matti Mikkola talked about the declining momentum of wood construction – is this a lost opportunity or a new normal?
A long-time career contributor
The annual meeting of the Wood Processing Engineers held in conjunction with the spring seminar also thanked Leif Lindberg from a significant career as a PI Puunvuoro-media (formerly Paperi ja Puu magazine).
“I have been working on Paperi ja Puu magazine since 1990,” Lindberg recalls.
The work on the magazine has been comprehensive. Lindberg has been responsible for advertising sales for the magazine and has written articles. However, he reminds us that the work as a whole is much more. People from many companies have become acquaintances and friends.
“And whenever you go to a company, you don’t just go to write an article. You also represent everyone behind the scenes, like PI and the magazine. It’s been nice and rewarding. But now it’s a good time to stop.”
PI's PuunvuoroBouser Oy will be responsible for advertising sales for the media in the future.
