This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of UPM on the riverbanks in Kuusankoski, Valkeakoski and Pori. Many UPM mills have been able to reform over the course of time developing their operations to meet the needs of each era. Now they will celebrate their 150th anniversary, not only with various events, but also through everyday work.
UPM’s family tree consists of more than 130 Finnish forest industry companies, from east to west. Many major forest companies, such as Kymi, United Paper Mills, Kaukas, Kajaani, Schauman, Rosenlew, Rauma-Repola and Raf. Haarla have merged into the current UPM-Kymmene Corporation. The company logo, UPM’s Griffin, is the oldest company logo still in use in Finland. It dates back to a design competition organised by Kymi at the end of the 19th century. The winner of the competition was a young artist named Hugo Simberg, whose works of art are now treasured in the Finnish National Gallery.
The oldest branches of the UPM family tree are in the eastern region of Kymenlaakso and the towns of Valkeakoski and Pori. The Verla groundwood mill and the Kymi and Kuusankoski paper mills began their operations in 1872 along the Kymi river. Seikku sawmill was established in Pori, as well as the groundwood mill and paper mill in Valkeakoski in same year. The production in Valkeakoski began the following year.