Suominen Corporation

Suominen Corporation is a Finnish company that makes nonwovens for wiping and hygiene products, and for healthcare applications. Suominen is the global market leader in nonwovens for wipes, and one of the world's biggest nonwovens manufacturers.[2] Suominen's nonwovens are made into wet wipes, sanitary towels and swabs, for example.[3]

Suominen
TypePublic company (Julkinen osakeyhtiö)
Nasdaq Helsinki: SUY1V
Founded1898 (1898)
FounderJuho Wiktor Suominen
Headquarters
Helsinki
,
Finland
Area served
Europe, Americas
Key people
Petri Helsky, CEO, Jan Johansson, Chairman of the board
Productsnonwovens
Revenue411.4 million euros (2019)[1]
8.1 million euros € (2019)[1]
0.2 million euros € (2019)[1]
Number of employees
685 (average in 2019)[1]
Websitewww.suominen.fi/en

Suominen's history began in Finland in 1898, but the oldest of the company's subsidiaries was founded in 1767. Between 1982 and 2001, Suominen was part of the Lassila & Tikanoja Group.

The company's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. The company has production plants in the United States, Brazil, Spain and Italy as well as Finland and it employs approximately 685 persons.

History

J. W. Suominen Oy (1898–1982)

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 non-woven 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]

Part of Lassila & Tikanoja (1982–2001)

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

Suominen Yhtymä Oyj (2001–2011)

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

In 2011, after the purchase of Ahlstrom's Home & 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, in order 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 EUR 500 million and its number of staff to 1,300, with operations in 10 countries. Nina Kopola was appointed President & CEO in December 2011.[8]

Suominen Corporation (2012–)

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 were sold to a UK private equity firm. After this, Suominen became a company dealing exclusively in nonwovens.[10]

Suominen's net sales in 2015 amounted to 444 million euros and operating profit excluding non-recurring items was 31.2 million euros.

President & CEO Nina Kopola resigned in August 2018. Tapio Engström acted as temporary President & 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]

Organization

Suominen Group's parent company is Suominen Corporation, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The Group has wholly owned subsidiaries in Finland, Italy, Spain, the United States and Brazil, through which it owns all shares in its production plants. In 2019, Suominen employed more than 680 people in Europe and North and South America.[1] The company has divided its operations between two business areas: the Americas and Europe.[16]

Management

Petri Helsky has been Suominen's President & CEO since 2019. In April 2020, Suominen Corporation's Board of Directors consisted of its Chairman Jan Johansson, and members Andreas Ahlström, Björn Borgman, Nina Linander, Laura Raitio and Sari Pajari.[17] The company's Executive Team consisted of President & CEO Petri Helsky, and Toni Tamminen, Lynda A. Kelly, Markku Koivisto, Klaus Korhonen and Mimoun Saïm.[18]

Owners

On February 29, 2020, Suominen had 58,259,219 shares and around 3,800 shareholders, the two largest being Ahlström Capital Oy's Group company AC Invest Two B.V and Oy Etra Invest Ab, owned by Erkki Etola.[19]

The ten largest shareholders were (percentage in brackets)[19]

  1. AC Invest Two B.V (23.95)
  2. Oy Etra Invest Ab (13.34)
  3. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company (7,72)
  4. Euroclear Bank Sa/Nv (5.81)
  5. Keskinäinen Eläkevakuutusyhtiö Ilmarinen (5.23)
  6. Keskinäinen Työeläkevakuutusyhtiö Elo (5.19)
  7. Mandatum Henkivakuutusosakeyhtiö (3.23)
  8. Oy H. Kuningas & Co Ab (2.69)
  9. Nordea Henkivakuutus Suomi Oy (2.18)
  10. Evald ja Hilda Nissin säätiö (1.72)

Products

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 and swabs.[2] Suominen is one of the world's largest manufacturers of nonwovens, and is the global market leader in nonwovens for wipes. The next-biggest manufacturer, the American consumer goods giant Kimberley-Clark, manufactures such fabrics primarily for its own branded products.[2] In 2018, Suominen held about 20 percent of the market.[20]

References
  1. "Annual report 2019" (PDF). Suominen. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  2. Salin, Markus. "Suomisella pyyhkii paremmin" [Suominen is doing better]. Talouselämä (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  3. "Suomisen taru käynnistyi nahkurinverstaasta – nykyisin se on suuri kuitukangasvalmistaja" [Suominen's story started with a tannery - today it is a large non-woven fabric manufacturer]. www.sydansatakunta.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  4. "Nahkateollisuuden historia kertoo tarkkaan satakuntalaistehtaiden vaiheista" [The history of the leather industry tells the exact stages of Satakunta's factories]. www.sydansatakunta.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  5. "Suominen as a company". www.suominen.fi. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  6. Seppälä, Jarmo. "Ahlstrom myy pyyhkeitä Suomiselle" [Ahlstrom sells wiping producst to Suominen]. Tekniikkatalous (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  7. "Pörssin ainoa naispomo: Jos lapsia hankkii, ne on hoidettava" [The only female boss on the stock exchange: If you have children, you have to take care of them]. Taloussanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  8. Salo, Irmeli. "Kulttuurijohtaja". Talouselämä (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  9. Kauppalehti. "Kauppalehti". Tärkeimmät talousuutiset | Kauppalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  10. "Suominen myi osiaan ja paransi tulosnäkymiään" [Suominen sold some of its parts and improved its result views]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  11. "Naisjohtajien pioneerin Nina Kopolan ura Suomisella päättyi" [Nina Kopola, the Pioneer for female leaders in Finland, ended her career in Suominen]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  12. "Zimbabwen lentoturmassa kuolivat Lassila & Tikanojan toimitusjohtaja Pekka Ojanpää ja metsäyhtiö UPM:n johtaja Heikki Vappula: "Tämä tragedia jättää meidät kaikki sanattomiksi"". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  13. "Suominen menetti uuden toimitusjohtajansa lentoturmassa – Nyt tehtävään valittiin Petri Helsky". www.aamulehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  14. Erkkilä, Jorma (2019-12-18). "Neljä Helsingin pörssin yhtiötä siirtyy isompaan kokoluokkaan". SalkunRakentaja (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  15. "SUY1V, Suominen Oyj, (FI0009010862) - Nasdaq". www.nasdaqomxnordic.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  16. "About us". www.suominen.fi. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  17. "Corporate Governance". www.suominen.fi. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  18. "Corporate Governance". www.suominen.fi. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  19. "Shares and shareholders". www.suominen.fi. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  20. "Top 40 Nonwovens Industry Companies - Nonwovens Industry Magazine - News, Markets & Analysis for the Nonwovens Industry". www.nonwovens-industry.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
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