EPISODE · May 27, 2026 · 12 MIN
How a Finnish Paper Mill Turned Into a Biorefinery
from The Manufacturing Podcast with Fexingo: Factories, Supply Chains, and Industrial Business · host Fexingo
The forest-products giant UPM closed its paper mill in Jämsänkoski, Finland, in 2021 — then reopened it as a biorefinery making biochemicals from wood. Lucas and Luna walk through the economics of the transformation: 200 million euros in investment, the shift from legacy paper to renewable ethylene glycol used in textile fibres and plastics, and what it means for the future of traditional manufacturing regions. They discuss the role of EU regulation, the challenge of scaling biochemical production, and why a paper company thought it could become a chemistry player. A concrete look at how one industrial town bet its future on a new raw-material logic. #UPM #Biorefinery #Biochemicals #Finland #PaperIndustry #IndustrialTransition #RenewableMaterials #EthyleneGlycol #CircularEconomy #Bioeconomy #Manufacturing #SupplyChain #Europe #Sustainability #Business #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #Factories Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
What this episode covers
The forest-products giant UPM closed its paper mill in Jämsänkoski, Finland, in 2021 — then reopened it as a biorefinery making biochemicals from wood. Lucas and Luna walk through the economics of the transformation: 200 million euros in investment, the shift from legacy paper to renewable ethylene glycol used in textile fibres and plastics, and what it means for the future of traditional manufacturing regions. They discuss the role of EU regulation, the challenge of scaling biochemical production, and why a paper company thought it could become a chemistry player. A concrete look at how one industrial town bet its future on a new raw-material logic. #UPM #Biorefinery #Biochemicals #Finland #PaperIndustry #IndustrialTransition #RenewableMaterials #EthyleneGlycol #CircularEconomy #Bioeconomy #Manufacturing #SupplyChain #Europe #Sustainability #Business #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #Factories Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
NOW PLAYING
How a Finnish Paper Mill Turned Into a Biorefinery
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m