Indufor Oy is the Indufor Group’s original office, established in 1980 in Helsinki. Fully owned by management and staff members, the office’s multilingual team comprises 15 experts with advanced university degrees in forestry and forest economics, environmental engineering, wood technology, forest products marketing, environment and sustainability, and business administration.
With more than 42 years of experience serving public and private clients all over the world, Indufor Oy’s team has in-depth experience working with partners in natural resources and forest industry development sectors, providing a comprehensive set of tailored services throughout the forestry value chain. Our clients include forest industry companies and associations, timberland and other investors and investment banks, forest owners and producers’ associations, development banks and other development organisations, civil society organisations, and state forestry entities.
Providing multiple strategic services, Indufor draws from a multi-disciplinary set of expertise and employs a science-based, iterative approach to develop solutions that best fit our client’s needs.
Our team in Finland
Ms Paro is an experienced administrator with strong organizational and information management skills. She is responsible for office management, human resources and invoicing as well as in charge of the back office. She is a graduate of the Scandinavian Secretarial College of Stockholm University (1982). She is fluent in Finnish, English and Swedish, and competent in French and Russian.
Mr Ankrah holds a Masters in Business Administration from Aston Business School, UK; having specialised in strategic business planning, marketing and strategy and has 30 years of international timber and forestry experience gained in a cross-cultural working environment in the UK, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, Bolivia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. He also holds a BSc in Wood Products Technology from Brunel Chiltern University, High Wycombe, UK, and is an Associate level member of the Institute of Wood Science, UK. He has undergone training and certification in Project Feasibility and Investment Analysis by UNIDO, Vienna.
Previously, Mr Ankrah worked with the Timbmet Group and Saint Gobain Building Distribution; all in the UK. He has good knowledge and experience in the development of forest plantations in Ghana and other parts of the world; and is well-grounded in the economic, technical, strategic, environmental and social aspects of the Ghana timber industry. He has undertaken environmental impact assessments, due diligence and investment feasibility studies on behalf of plantation investors and international development finance institutions. He is fluent in English and 3 Ghanaian languages (Twi, Fanti and Ga) and has good Spanish speaking skills.
Mr Selänniemi holds a master's degree (MSc) in forestry from the University of Helsinki (1997) and a bachelor's degree (BSc) in forestry from Tammisaari School of Forestry (1981). He has been working in commercial forestry in Finland and in international development cooperation assignments for over 30 years. He has a solid background in institutional development and smallholder/community forestry, especially in Africa. He also has a deep understanding of project cycle management, and has led several project planning missions and managed a number of long-term technical assistance projects in forestry. He is fluent in Swedish, Finnish and English.
Tuomo Visanko holds a degree in Engineering, Wood Technology from University of Applied Sciences, and eMBA from University of Lappeenranta. He has over 27 years of experience in forest industry and wood procurement. He has worked in UPM-Kymmene Oyj in several positions as a Senior Vice President leading international Sawn Timber and Living Business Area, Global Wood Sourcing and Forestry Business Areas. He also has experience in developing the energy biomass sourcing and sales in Europe. His geographic experience covers in particular Europe, Asia, North-Africa and Russia.
He is fluent in Finnish and English.
Ms Papunen has a Master’s degree in Forest Sciences (MSc For, 2022) from the University of Helsinki. She is specialized in forest resource management, remote sensing, and GIS. Her tasks have included land cover analyses, resource mapping, and modelling. She is fluent in Finnish and English, and competent in French and Swedish.
Ms Kähkölä holds a Master's degree in Forest Ecology from the University of Helsinki (2010). She specializes in tropical silviculture, plantation forestry, climate change, and forest carbon. She has worked for several years in East Africa on topics related to forest value chains, forest management practices, sustainable management of natural forests, forest policy, climate resilience, agroforestry, forest-related advocacy, and reforestation campaigns, as well as general project cycle management and evaluations. She enjoys working at the interface between the development industry and the private sector and has facilitated mutually beneficial relationships between communities and enterprises. Her native language is Finnish, and she is fluent in English with competent skills in Swedish and Kiswahili.
Hanna Nikinmaa, Senior Advisor, is specialised in the promotion of sustainable forest and natural resources management with international organisations and private companies. She holds a master’s degree in forest ecology (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki (1989) and a postgraduate diploma in educational technology from the Kuru Institute of Forestry (1992).
Her expertise includes certification systems for natural resource management, environmental and social appraisals and international rules for the legal trade of wood products. Her professional work experience covers several European, Asian, African and Latin American countries.
Her language skills cover Finnish, English, Swedish, Spanish and French.
Jarno Seppälä, Head of Forest Industry and Biosolutions Consulting, holds a master’s degree in forest products’ marketing (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki (2001). Mr. Seppälä completed his thesis at Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA, in 2000.
Jarno Seppälä has extensive international knowledge of the primary and secondary wood products as well as bioenergy industries in Europe, Russia and North America. He has been actively involved in and/or managed complete business plans and other strategy formulations, sector studies, raw material, supply chain and market analysis including detailed end-use segmentation and client identification. His responsibilities also include feasibility studies, investment analysis and evaluations as well as due diligence and M&A assessments. Mr. Seppälä has experience in both the private and public sectors – from small local operators to large multinational companies and organisations.
Mr Seppälä is fluent in Finnish and English.
Mr Rantanen holds a master’s degree in forest economics (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki (1999). He has extensive experience in the international wood industry and trade with a strong background in forestry and wood procurement operations. He has worked in demanding sales roles in the timber industry, including softwood lumber, further processed wood and plywood products, and thermally modified wood products, throughout his career of over 15 years. He has extensive international knowledge of primary and secondary wood products in global wood products markets. During his consulting career, he has worked in various international feasibility and market studies and analyses, as well as business development projects related to the wood products industry.
Mr Nuolivirta has over 20 years of experience in the field of feedstock sourcing for biorefineries, forest industry and bioenergy facilities. In addition to strategic and operational issues in feedstock sourcing, he has extensive knowledge in sustainable biomass supply, forest asset management and biofuel regulation.
Last 6 years Petteri has been working for Neste, World’s leading renewable fuel producer. First two years as a projects manager for different biorefinery projects. Last four years he has been Technology Manager for Neste, Innovation’s Lignocellulosic platform, acting as a feedstock lead for spearheading lignocellulosic fuel projects in North America & Europe and the leading sustainability and regulation expert considering forest & forest industry based feedstocks & fuels.
Before joining Neste, Petteri worked 17 years in the field of forest industry consulting. Managing various international projects and being an adviser for several international companies and organizations in their strategic decisions regarding feedstock sourcing, forest asset management, sustainability issues, business strategies, end-product markets, investment feasibility and mergers and acquisitions.
Ms Anni Blåsten, Marketing Manager/Senior Consultant, holds a Master’s degree in forest products’ marketing (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki (1990) and Specialist Qualification in Management from the Institute of Marketing (2015).
Anni has 30 years of professional experience in the forest sector, wood products industry, EU forest-related policies, institutional development, as well as tendering and implementation of technical assistance projects. She is responsible for Indufor’s general marketing and the preparation of public sector tenders. She is a communications expert, producing material for Indufor's website, social media and Newsletters. She is fluent in Finnish, English and French.
Mr Dima holds a Master’s degree in Forestry (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki and has been active in the forest sectors of South-Eastern Europe for the past 20 years. In 2006, he co-founded a consultancy company in Finland, working with Finnish, Swedish, Austrian, German, Swiss, Dutch and North American companies in the forest sector. He was the Director of an association of international forest investors, held a managerial position in a leading wood harvesting company in Romania, and focused on optimizing the use of forest technology in mountain areas, as well as on lobbying in Bucharest and Brussels for modern practices in private forests. He worked as a Consultant in several international projects targeting the Romanian forest sector. The most recent one was the formulation of the National Strategy for Forests 2030, where Mr Dima coordinated one of the nine working groups in charge with the project, namely the one in targeting the wood balance and wood market of Romania. Pursuing his goals to promote economically feasible and ecologically sound forestry practices, he started working on the Japanese market, where he has been advising local companies on the selection of suitable harvesting technology for Japanese specific conditions, and provided advisory services and technical assistance to local government and private forestry contractors. His native language is Romanian, he is fluent in English and French, has good Spanish, Italian and Finnish language skills.
Dr Sepul Kanti Barua has 15 years of professional experience in consulting, international development and research in climate change, environment, including forests and other natural resources, energy, agriculture and agro-commodities, trade and process industries. He holds Doctor of Science degree in Forest and Climate Change Economics from the University of Helsinki 2012 and was visiting doctoral scholar of environmental economics at Yale University, USA, in 2011. He has worked across Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. His work covers sustainability, climate change solutions such as carbon capture in forests, renewable energy, REDD+ for private companies and investors investment planning, green economy, and economic modelling, especially in the forest and environment sectors. He has an in-depth understanding of the broader global sustainability, climate and development agenda. Dr Barua has authored over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, scientific monographs and technical/scientific reports, working papers, and numerous project reports.
He is fluent in English, Bengali, Chittagonian and has fair proficiency in Finnish.
Mr Arttu Pienimäki holds a master's degree in forestry from the University of Helsinki (2014). He specializes in tropical silviculture, plantation forestry, climate change and forest carbon. He has worked several years in East Africa with topics related to the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in forestry, design and implementation of forest inventories and other forest sector surveys, forest carbon stock assessments, plantation establishment operations, and the project cycle management. Arttu is an experienced data analyst and a hands-on field expert, with considerable experience in overseeing and participating in field measurement campaigns. His native language is Finnish, and he is fluent in English with competent skills in Swedish and German.
Mr Taittonen holds a master’s degree in forest products marketing (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki. He has extensive experience in equity research and numerous projects within M&A and equity market advisory, he has developed an in-depth understanding of industry dynamics, value drivers and investors’ investment criteria in the forest industries.
During his eight-year tenure at Jaakko Pöyry Consulting – in Helsinki and London – Harri worked as a Project Manager and Specialist in business opportunity assessments, market studies, and multiclient studies for major forest products companies, banks, and suppliers for the industry. Harri worked in the financial sector in London for eight years as an equity analyst and head of forest sector research first at Crédit Agricole and then at UBS. During that period, he and his team received top rankings in European Extel and Institutional Investor external surveys. For the last 18 years, Harri was Head of Equity Research Finland at Nordea in Helsinki where he built an analyst team that rose to No. 1 position among institutional clients in Prospera Finland survey.
Mr Kataja holds a master’s degree in forest economics (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki and a bachelor’s degree in forest engineering from the Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Tuukka has a solid background in Finnish forestry, spanning from forest management to wood procurement and from data analysis and business development to top management responsibilities. He is specialized in wood procurement and sales. He has several years’ experience from Stora Enso Wood Supply and has most recently worked as CEO for Northern Finland's Forest Market (Pohjois-Suomen Metsämarkkinat), where he oversaw deliveries of over 700 000 m3 of wood per year.
Mr Gaudel has a master’s degree in Forestry (MSc For, 2019) from the University of Helsinki and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering (2014) from the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. He specializes in forest resource management, remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Rabins leverages these skills to analyse and monitor forest resources, contribute to informed decision-making, and optimize supply chains. He has good experience in fieldwork, data analysis, and creating visually appealing cartographic representations. Most recently, he has been involved in the European Space Agency's Earth Observation for Sustainable Development (EO4SD) program, which aims to incorporate satellite data into projects conducted by International Financial Institutions. In addition, he is engaged in projects in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Indonesia. He is fluent in English, Nepali, and Hindi and has good Finnish language skills.
Janne Löytömäki, Senior Consultant - Wood Products, holds a master’s degree in wood technology (M.S. Tech.) from the Helsinki University of Technology (1992).
Mr Löytömäki is specialized in wood technology, sawmilling and wood-based panels industry, operational, financial and economic analyses, and valuations. His tasks in investment and other industrial studies have included process planning, financial analyses, operational and technological assessments, implementation planning; development of cost accounting, monitoring and reporting systems; carrying out forest asset appraisals, and participating in due diligence teams.
Löytömäki is fluent in Finnish and English.
Esa Puustjärvi, holds a master’s degree in forest economics (MSc For) from the University of Helsinki (1985).
Esa Puustjärvi is a specialist in forest and natural resource policies and forest economics with extensive field experience. He has been a team leader in several short and long-term missions involving project preparation, implementation and evaluation. Puustjärvi's specialisation areas include the design and analyses of sectoral policies; institutional reforms; forest law enforcement, governance and trade; and the management and implementation of policy formulation processes. He is presently the Chief Technical Adviser of the Sustainable Forestry Development for Rural Development project in Lao PRD.
He is fluent in Finnish, English, French, Spanish, Swedish and Estonian.
Dr Senko holds a PhD in Agriculture and Forestry (2021) with Forest Science as the major subject and a master’s degree in European Forestry (2014) from the University of Eastern Finland. His background spans more than ten years of experience promoting sustainable and intensive forest management initiatives in Finland and Russia while building relationships with various stakeholders through his consulting and research work. Sergei has completed his PhD dissertation on the topic “Nordic forest solutions as an opportunity to reform the forestry sector in Russia”. At Indufor, Sergei is in charge of forestry and wood supply consulting. His key expertise includes wood sourcing, timber markets, and forest resource assessment and management issues. Sergei has also a sound knowledge of wood product industries, climate solutions, renewable energy and other biomaterials. Sergei has been involved in several clients and research projects in Russia, Europe and Asia, acting also as a project manager. His native language is Russian, and he is fluent in English
Dr Mirel Leino-Haltia, CFA, serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Indufor Ltd.
She has 25 years of experience in leading professional services e.g. as Partner and Executive Team Member at PwC, as well as in various Board roles. She has wide experience of various consulting assignments within e.g. Forest sector and Financial services. In addition to her Board positions, she is Professor of Practice in Aalto University Business School in Finland.
She is especially interested in Natural Capital Accounting and Valuations, as well as, in investments in Natural Capital both from ESG, carbon storage and Financial perspectives. She is fluent in English, Swedish and Finnish.
Mr Mishra holds a master’s degree in Forest Science and Business (MSc For, 2019) and bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Engineering (2015) and Chemistry (2009). He has focused on forest resource management, renewable energy, natural sciences, carbon sequestration and nitrogen mineralization. Previously he has worked with Silvere as Forest Inventory Quality Assurance and projects with UNECE/FAO dealing with forest wood products and marketing, statistical analysis and field measurements. Anup is fluent in English, Nepali and Hindi with intermediate skills in Finnish.
Leo Eerola, Senior Consultant - Financial Management, holds a master’s degree in business economics in forestry, MSc (For), from the University of Helsinki (1987).
Leo Eerola has long experience in building financial management systems for short and long-term development and capacity-building projects; accounting procedures and guidelines, accounting software, financial control and MIS systems, donor reporting, auditing, and on-the-job training for local staff. He has country experience from several East African and South-East Asian countries and from Russia. The most significant clients have been the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, various EC Delegations, Nordic Development Fund and external auditors.
He is fluent in Finnish and English.