"The halt in Russian wood imports and the structural decline in paper demand have forced the forest industry to renew itself quickly. Since investments in the sector are commitments spanning decades, their business cases need to be assessed more closely than ever before," Nicholas Oksanen analyze.
Competitiveness determines investments
The mere environmental friendliness of a product is not a sufficient basis for an investment decision. Every innovation must be able to prove its place in the global market. The new product must be at least as good and preferably cheaper than the traditional alternative.
"R&D investments and the startup ecosystem are vital engines here. It has been great to see how pension insurance companies, for example, have started to finance startup concepts, bringing new expertise and motivation to the industry," Oksanen rejoices.
Digital backbone optimizes factory production
Modern factory design has expanded from drawing physical structures to building a digital ecosystem. Data is increasingly being used in new investments, and Digital Twin solutions and intelligent information models ensure the best possible performance of the factory throughout its entire lifecycle.
Watch Nicholas Oksanen's interview.
Data drives maintenance and energy efficiency in a way that creates the conditions for predicting deviations. At the same time, technical components, such as increasingly affordable frequency converters, have become standard solutions that optimize the use of electric motors and reduce wasted load.
Artificial intelligence makes industry smarter
Artificial intelligence is seen as a huge opportunity to improve process analysis, but in an industrial environment, it is often hampered by fragmented data. In many factories, different systems operate as islands, which prevents the full utilization of AI tools.
"We need digital platforms that bring data together. There are open source solutions for these that are lightweight and quick to build. They bring immediate efficiency when existing historical data can be used to train artificial intelligence," explains Oksanen.
The circular economy requires new rules of the game
At the same time, circular economy thinking is expanding from process flows to structures. For example, AFRY is involved in the Ministry of the Environment's Green Deal commitment, where the company focuses on promoting the circular economy of concrete in its customer projects, among other things.
"I believe that we are moving more and more towards a circular economy. However, it requires courage to create new rules for how materials are valued and reused in industry," says Oksanen.
Towards a clear national vision
In order for Finland to maintain its position as a leading country in the bioeconomy, closer cooperation between public finances, research institutions and industry is needed. Oksanen calls for a cross-sectoral dialogue and a clear national vision for 2035.
"Innovations are still being worked on too much in their own silos, even though different actors should share expertise and knowledge more boldly for the sake of Finland's competitiveness. We must be able to break down sector boundaries and combine our resources," he emphasizes.
Nicholas Oksanen
• Born 1967 in Nummi-Pusula
• CEO of AFRY Finland Oy from 2023
• Master of Science (Engineering) in Paper Technology and Production Economics, Helsinki University of Technology
• Over 30 years of experience in the international process industry and over 20 years in management positions. In his most recent role, he leads AFRY's global Industrial division, which includes the paper, pulp, chemical, biorefinery, mining, metals, automotive, pharmaceutical, food and defense segments.
• Member of the Group Management Team since 2014/2019 (Pöyry/AFRY)
• Family: wife and three adult children
• Hobbies: tennis, padel, cottage vacation
• Motto: “Dare to dream and aim high.”
3 x goals
1. I want to develop as a leader who inspires, listens, and promotes collaboration across organizational boundaries, and creates a culture and environment where everyone can feel like they belong.
2. AFRY has recently introduced a new strategy focused on global segments. My goal is to ensure that we are moving in the right direction and have the right capabilities to execute the strategy.
3. Finland has a strong history and expertise in the forest industry and bioeconomy. I want to promote cooperation and dialogue between different actors in the sector, so that we can ensure that Finland's excellence and leading position are maintained in the future.
