The Ecosystem for New Cellulose and Fibre Products, which brings together wood and pulp-based textiles and composites manufacturers, is looking for international growth through new innovations. The ecosystem brings together the whole value chain, from raw material production to the end users. It seeks to find new partners that can bring new expertise to the ecosystem.
Companies involved include both large raw material producers e.g. Metsä, Stora Enso and UPM, as well as end users such as Marimekko, Suominen and Paptic.
Christine Hagström-Näsi at CLIC Innovation says that the idea is to bring small and big companies together and to find synergies throughout the whole network:
“Our aim is to help small companies benefit from the resources of bigger companies. Therefore, bringing them together is vital. This way, small companies will be integrated into the bioeconomy value chain. CLIC Innovation acts as an ecosystem facilitator, helping companies to find new market-oriented ways to collaborate,” says Christine.
Extensive Finnish research programmes (such as ACel) are the backbone of this business-driven ecosystem. Experiences accrued in these programmes are now starting to produce results that are commercially applicable. The ecosystem wants to boost this development.
“We are now facing a fascinating opportunity to move the world’s composite and textile markets towards sustainability. The time is ripe for new-generation fibre products to emerge, and Finland plays a key role in this development. We have the speciality know-how needed; it just needs to be shared with the right people,” says Christine.
This ecosystem is a part of the BioNets programme set up by Tekes, the Finnish Innovation Funding Agency.
Open for new actors to join!
Does the Ecosystem for New Cellulose and Fibre Products sound interesting to your company? If so, don’t hesitate to contact Christine!
