Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Versowood Oy’s acquisition of UPM Oyj’s Korkeakoski business, which was announced in September, has been approved by the competition authorities. At the same time, the companies will enter into an extensive cooperation agreement concerning Versowood’s sawmill by-products and pulpwood, which will create synergy benefits for both companies. At the same time, UPM becomes Versowood’s minority shareholder.
Versowood Oy is the largest private producer of sawn timber in Finland and, after this acquisition, it will also become the largest sawmill operator in the country and among the ten largest sawmill operators in Europe. The acquisition entered into force on 31 December 2025. Versowood’s and Korkeakoski sawmill’s total combined turnover will exceed EUR 700 million. The company produces nearly 2 million cubic metres of sawn timber and employs approximately 1,000 people.
In 1988, the Kopra family sold the Korkeakoski sawmill to Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat (now UPM). Today, the Korkeakoski sawmill produces nearly 350,000 cubic metres of pine sawn timber, and its turnover is approximately EUR 100 million. The company employs approximately 70 employee, and they will be transferred to Versowood’s service as old employees. Versowood’s log use will reach approximately 3,5 million cubic metres. In the summer of 2025, UPM renovated the Korkeakoski sawmill line, and the plant is in good condition. With the investment, the production target at Korkeakoski for the coming years is between 350,000 and 400,000 cubic metres.
In addition to plain sawn timber, Versowood’s products include planed, impregnated, graded, finger-jointed and painted timber products, glulam, timber bridges, noise barriers, utility poles, wood pellets and wooden packaging products.
According to Versowood, what are the advantages of wood construction?
Environmentally friendly, as wood products consume less energy in production than other building materials and sequester carbon dioxide throughout the product’s lifecycle.
Fire-resistant, as the charred surface of wood slows the spread of fire, with a charring rate of 0.7mm/min for glulam.
Flexible design, allowing for long spans.
Additionally, wood material helps improve indoor air quality as it is antibacterial and balances indoor humidity. From an aesthetic perspective, wood surfaces create a sense of calm and warmth in a space. Using wood indoors reduces stress levels and balances temperature. Read more about thermal properties.
Versowood’s strong expertise and diverse experience in designing and constructing various glulam structures are at one’s disposal for building projects. They offer their customers expert design services and project-specific tailored solutions.
Through their cut-to-size service, it is possible to order glulam beams in desired lengths, reducing waste and speeding up work on-site. The use of prefabricated building products particularly accelerates the construction phase.
With CNC machines, precise and consistent notches, slots, holes, angled cuts, grooves, and milling can be achieved.
Read more news on: sawmill, wood mill, woodworking, CNC, prefabrication, wood building, construction
Get more updates on American woodworking industry through: www.woodandpanel.us
Tags: bio-based wood products, construction, Finland, Forestry, glulam, pulpwood, sawmill, Timber Industry
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