The aim of UPM’s business development and R&D programmes is to create new products and businesses by developing technology, and to provide support for its business areas to ensure the competitiveness of its current products. Over the past years, UPM has invested in the research and development of the new value-added uses of forest biomass, such as biofuels, biochemicals, biocomposites and fibril cellulose. UPM spends approximately EUR 45 million per year on R&D projects.
UPM's around 300 R&D professionals work in five locations:
- The Research Centre in Lappeenranta, Finland, focuses mainly on fibres and fibre raw
materials, papers, coating and printing, biofuels and biochemicals as well as customer
support and technical services.
- The Biorefinery Development Centre, also in Lappeenranta, develops production
technologies for biofuels and biochemicals in pilot plant.
- The recycled fibre research is located in Augsburg, Germany
- UPM’s Asia R&D Centre in Changshu, China, is responsible for local fibre raw material
research, as well as manufacturing and technical customer service support for UPM’s
production units in China and the Asia Pacific region.
- The WISA R&D Centre for plywood and composites is located in Lahti
- The labelstock R&D takes place in Tampere, Finland.
- The Competence Center in Fray Bentos, Uruguay, will focus on the research of eucalyptus species and their impact on end product properties. The new centre will be operational during the first half of 2012.
In addition to these, UPM has continuous co-operation with several research institutions and universities worldwide. UPM is a partner with a 15 per cent share in Forestcluster Ltd, established to network top-level research and innovation in the Finnish forest cluster.