KWH Group
KWH Group Ltd (Finnish: KWH-yhtymä Oy, Swedish: KWH-koncernen Ab) is one of Finland's largest companies in abrasives, logistics services and plastics. It is headquartered in Vaasa, Finland.
Native name | Finnish: KWH-yhtymä Oy Swedish: KWH-koncernen Ab |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | 1929 |
| Headquarters | Vaasa, Finland |
Key people | Henrik Höglund, Chairman Kjell Antus, President Stefan Sjöberg (Mirka) Joakim Laxåback (KWH Logistics) Peter Lång (KWH Freeze) Marko Nylund (Prevex) |
| Products | Abrasives, logistics services, real estate holdings, plastic plumbing products |
| Revenue | 592.8 million euros (2021) |
| 45.0 million euro (2019) | |
Net income | 35.3 million euro (2019) |
Number of employees | 2363 (2019) |
| Website | www |
From a modest start in the timber industry, KWH Group grew to be the biggest timber exporter in Finland by 1939, accounting for 26% of the country's total lumber exports and some 20% of pulpwood exports . The company was the world's largest fox and mink fur producer in the 1960s and 1970s, producing approximately 10% of all Finnish mink furs, equivalent to 2% of world production in 1973.
After expanding into plastics production in the 1950s, the company was the first in Finland to manufacture expanded polystyrene sheets with its brand name Styrox. Establishing a niche in plastic pipe manufacturing, the company was the first in the world to manufacture a 600 mm (24 in) diameter pipe in 1964, thereby gaining international recognition.
Today, the Mirka Group (previously KWH Mirka Group until 2016) is one of the largest manufacturers of "flexible abrasives materials" in the world. It is headquartered in Vaasa, Finland.