Suominen Corporation

Juho Wiktor Suominen started a tannery workshop in Nakkila, south-western Finland, in 1898.[3] J.W. Suominen's Nahkatehdas (“Leather Factory”) became a limited liability company in 1928.[4]

The Finnish shoe industry was in decline in the 1960s, and J. W. Suominen expanded from leather to begin manufacturing fiber products. It used nonwoven fabric to make cotton wool, wadding, wall-to-wall carpeting, and disposable wipes.[3][5] The company exited the leather industry in the 1970s.[4]

Lassila and Tikanoja bought J. W. Suominen Oy in early 1982.[3]

In September 2001, Lassila and Tikanoja was divided into two companies: Lassila and Tikanoja Oyj ja Suominen Yhtymä Oyj.[5]

In 2011, after the purchase of Ahlstrom's Home and Personal business, that is, wiping products, Suominen became the global market leader in nonwovens designed for wiping products sold in rolls.[2][5] The deal included production plants in Europe, the United States, and Brazil. As a result, Suominen almost doubled in size, and to finance the deal, the company organized a share-and-conversion issue in October 2011, which made Ahlstrom the biggest shareholder in Suominen.[6][7] This increased Suominen's net sales to 500 million euros and its number of staff to 1,300, with operations in 10 countries. Nina Kopola was appointed president and CEO in December 2011.[8]

In April 2012, the company name was shortened to Suominen Oyj (in English - Suominen Corporation).[9]

In 2013, the company headquarters and domicile were transferred from Tampere to Helsinki.[5]

In 2014, the majority of shares in the loss-making Flexibles business area was sold to a UK private-equity firm. After this, Suominen became a company dealing exclusively in nonwovens.[10]

President and CEO Nina Kopola resigned in August 2018. Tapio Engström acted as temporary president and CEO.[11] Pekka Ojanpää was scheduled to begin as President & CEO in December 2018, but died before he could do so.[12] Petri Helsky started work as Suominen Corporation's President & CEO in January 2019.[13]

In early 2020, Suominen Corporation, along with seven other listed companies, was transferred to a new market-value category following an annual review of NASDAQ's market value categories. The company was transferred from SMEs to small companies.[14][15] In April Suominen and VTT told that they had created a new multilayer fabric that could be used in respirators which was produced in Nakkila.[16] [17] The company achieved the highest turnover and profit in its history. The pandemic increased the demand for wiper products, and Suominen's customers made larger orders than usual.[18]

Suominen manufactures rolls of nonwovens for wiping and hygiene products and for healthcare needs. Nonwovens produced by the company are used to make products such as childcare and other wipes, sanitary towels, swabs, and respirators.[2] [22]

Suominen's portfolio of responsible products includes products made from renewable, recycled, or plastic-free raw materials and compostable or fully degradable nonwovens.[23] Suominen uses cellulose-based fibres, such as viscose and lyocell, as raw materials for its responsible-fibre fabrics. They accounted for more than half of its production in 2020.[18]

About 44% of its products are made from oil-based materials such as polypropylene and polyester.[18]

Suominen started researching new products in its innovation group in 2019, and the following year,[23] it set up a project called New Fiber Center, that explores new organic fibre fabrics that could be made from hemp, for example. The products are being tested in Nakkila and Windsor Locks in the US.[18] Hemp is similar to cotton as a raw material, but requires less land, water, and pesticides to grow. Suominen is also interested in testing flax and straw.[23]