Innovative Finnish technology that makes wood waterproof and usable in bathrooms has won forestry giant Metsa Group as an investor. Metsa’s venture capital arm, Metsa Spring, has invested Euro 4 million in Finnish company Woodio Ltd, a leading developer of waterproof wood composite products that was established in 2016. Source: Philip Hopkins for Timberbiz
Woodio has developed the world’s first 100% waterproof solid wood composite made from wood chips. The company’s proprietary technology will enable Metsa Group to use its under utilised wood side-streams into long-lived, value-added products.
Metsa Spring chief executive, Niklas von Weymarn, said a potential industrial side stream to be used in Woodio material was the undersized wood chips generated in wood chipping at several Metsa Group mills.
“The combination of using a side-stream as the main raw material and a product storing carbon dioxide for a long time is also expected to be very competitive – especially when assessing the environmental footprint of this new biomaterial against the existing commercial solutions of today,” he said.
“Woodio’s first success, in terms of sales, comes from using this technology in the production of bathroom and kitchen washbasins.”
Mr von Weymarn said Metsa Spring regarded Woodio’s current design washbasins as merely a first step for the company.
“We see significant potential for this technology also in business-to-business material markets. Woodio has a unique technology, has already achieved some market traction, has a realistic plan for the upcoming three-to-five years, and a capable team to implement the plan,” he said. “We are thrilled to start supporting this promising start-up.”
Other investors in Woodie are Ardent Venture BV, Finow Ltd, NextStone Ltd and Valve Ventures Ltd. The chairman of Woodio’s board of directors, Eerik Paasikivi, said Metsa’s investment closed the series A financing round.
This was a significant milestone for Woodio on its path to become a major international design and material technology company.
“We are pleased to extend our partner network with Metsa Group, which complements the industry competence of the early investors,” he said.
Woodio’s chief executive and founder, Petro Lahtinen, said joining forces with a large company like Metsa helped to secure the forest industry’s competitiveness in the future using Finnish forest-related know-how.
“The series A financing enables us to start a new phase in the development of Woodio,” he said.
Woodio’s new product was recognised in April this year when the company won the ‘Design Plus powered by ISH’ award by the German Design Council. Woodio’s aim is to change traditional bathroom materials into more ecological products. The company maintains its products have a much lower carbon footprint through the whole product lifecycle than current products.
Metsa Spring, formed in May 2018, invests worldwide in promising start-ups and spinouts from established companies that have technology relevant to Metsa Group’s activities. Woodio is Metsa Spring’s second investment; the first was in developing a new process to produce textile fibres from wood pulp.
