Metsä Group’s Wood Products Industry, Metsä Wood, Finland, has sold its wood element business located in Pälkäne, Finland, to Lapwall Oy, also of Finland. The transaction is expected to be finalized by the end of January 2017. Personnel of the wood element business will transfer entirely to the new owner’s payroll.

In connection with the transaction, the parties agreed on a multiyear contract concerning Kerto® LVL and spruce plywood deliveries. "Lapwall is an important partner for us, with whom we develop the wood construction ecosystem," said Metsä Wood EVP Esa Kaikkonen. 

The divestment does not have a material financial impact on Metsä Group.

Metsä Group is a forerunner in bioeconomy, utilizing renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh forest fiber paperboards, and tissue and cooking papers.

Metsä Group’s sales totaled EUR 5.0 billion in 2015, and it employs approximately 9,600 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by approximately 116,000 Finnish forest owners.

Metsä Wood provides competitive and environmentally friendly wood products for construction, industrial customers, and distributor partners. It manufactures products from northern wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. The company’s sales in 2015 was EUR 0.5 billion, and it employed about 1,600 people.