The Austrian Pfeifer Holding GmbH has signed an agreement on acquiring the Finnish wood processing company Pölkky Oy. The Pölkky brand, management and operations will remain untouched.
As the largest wood processing company in private ownership in Northern Finland, Pölkky employs 420 people and most recently recorded an annual turnover of Euro 200 million. After Pölkky integration into the Pfeifer Group, it intends to continue with its investment programme as planned during years 2022–2024.
Thanks to the acquisition, the Pfeifer Group’s number of employees rises to some 2,600 in four countries. The forecast turnover will increase to Euro 1.4 billion in 2023.
For the company previously situated in Central Europe, the transaction means a strategically coherent development in the direction of Northern Europe. Apart from entering an attractive market, this also opens new procurement sources when it comes to high-quality wood from the far North. This will secure the supply and delivery capabilities of the Group in the long run.
The Pölkky brand will remain active after the firm’s integration into the Pfeifer Group. Likewise, the management will continue to manage the company under CEO Petteri Virranniemi’s leadership, while the supervisory board will be reorganised. The acquisition has no impact on Pölkky’s staff levels, customers and cooperation agreements. The actual acquisition will take place after merger control approximately in January 2023.
Pölkky is Northern Finland’s largest family-owned wood processing company. The sawmills and processing plants are located in Kuusamo (headquarters), Taivalkoski, Kajaani, Kitka and Oulu. Its annual production output is 700,000 m3 of sawn timber, and the product portfolio also includes planed timber, pressure-treated timber, glulam, chips and sawdust.
