Stora Enso Oyj History

Company Perspectives:

Mission: To promote communication and the well-being of people by turning renewable fiber into paper, packaging, and processed wood products. Key Dates:

Key Dates:

1288:

First documentary evidence of mining at the copper mountain near Falun, Sweden.

1347:

King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden grants a royal charter, bestowing a series of privileges on the mine.

1650:

Annual copper production hits peaks of 3,000 tons.

1687:

Second of two giant cave-ins marks the beginning of a gradual decline in mine output.

Mid-18th century:Production of Falun red paint commences.

Early 19th century:Stora begins producing pig iron and bar iron, and later moves into forest products.

1862:

Mining, iron, and wood activities are combined within a single company, Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag.

1872:

Norway-based W. Gutzeit & Co. erects the first steam-powered sawmill in Finland, on the island of Kotka.

1885:

Stora acquires a sawmill at Skutskär.

1888:

Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag becomes a limited share company; Enso Träsliperi Aktiebolaget is born through the building of the first groundwood mill on the Vuoksi River.

1896:

W. Gutzeit & Co. is reincorporated in Finland as Aktiebolaget W. Gutzeit & Co.

1897:

A paper mill for newsprint is established by Stora at Kvarnsveden.

Early 20th century:Stora builds hydroelectric stations to power its plants.

1907:

Enso adds a paper machine to its mill.

1909:

Gutzeit acquires Aktiebolaget Pankakoski and its groundwood mill.

1910:

Enso builds large hydroelectric power station on the Vuoksi River.

1912:

Gutzeit acquires the financially troubled Enso.

1916:

Stora becomes part of the Wallenberg empire with the appointment of Marcus Wallenberg, Sr., as chairman.

1918:

The Finnish government becomes majority shareholder in Gutzeit.

1927:

Gutzeit is renamed Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö.

1931:

Enso-Gutzeit acquires Tornator Osakeyhtiö.

1939-40:Enso-Gutzeit suffers heavy damage in Soviet attacks on Finland; 1940 territorial concessions lead to loss of significant facilities and forestland.

1961:

Stora begins overseas expansion with the building of a pulp mill in Nova Scotia, Canada.

1963:

Enso-Gutzeit begins international expansion.

1976:

Stora begins focusing on forest products through divestment of specialty steel unit.

1977:

Stora's commercial steel operations are divested.

1984:

Purchase of Billerud makes Stora the largest forestry company in Europe.

1986:

Enso-Gutzeit acquires Varkaus; Stora acquires Papyrus.

1988:

Stora acquires Swedish Match.

1990:

Stora acquires Feldmühle Nobel, based in Germany.

1992:

Mining operations in Falun come to an end.

1996:

Enso-Gutzeit acquires Veitsiluoto; E-G adopts new name, Enso Oyj.

1997:

Enso acquires majority control of the German firm E. Holtzmann & Cie AG.

1998:

Stora purchases majority control of a Chinese fine paper mill, Suzhou Papyrus Paper; Stora and Enso merge to form Stora Enso Oyj.

2000:

Stora Enso announces that it will acquire Consolidated Papers, Inc. of the United States.

Company History:

Further Reading:

• Baxter, Andrew, 'Enso Hopes London Listing Will Draw Foreign Investors,' Financial Times, June 20, 1989, p. 33.
• Carnegy, Hugh, 'Paper Profits Clear Space for Restructuring: Enso-Veitsiluoto Merger Highlights Concentration of Finnish Industry,' Financial Times, June 7, 1995, p. 32.
• 'Four Major Mergers: Two Trans-Atlantic Blockbusters,' Pulp and Paper, April 2000, pp. 13-15.
• Hallvarsson, Mats, 'The Jewel of the Kingdom,' in Sweden Works: Industry in Transition, Stockholm, New Sweden 1988 Committee, 1987.
• Hoving, Victor, Enso-Gutzeit Osakeyhtiö, 1872-1958, Helsinki: Frenckhellin Kijapaino Osakeyhtiö, 1961.
• Jewitt, Caroline, 'Stora Enso Sets Off on a Global Crusade,' Pulp and Paper International, June 2000, pp. 29-31.
• Karonen, Petri, Enso-Gutzeit Oy laivanvarustajana: Oy Finnlines Ltd ja Merivienti Oy vuosina, 1947-1982, Imatra: Enso-Gutzeit, 1992, 240 p.
• Kenny, Jim, 'Stora Enso Aims for a Smooth Transition,' Pulp and Paper International, June 1999, pp. 20-21, 25.
• Korpijaakko, O., 'Gutzeit-yhtmän vaiheet 1872-1947,' Enso-Cutzeit Personnel Magazine, 75th Anniversary Issue, 1947.
• Kylmala, Timo, Kutsetin Mies, Helsinki: Kirjayhtyma, 1986.
• Latour, Almar, 'Paper Firms Join in Europe, Creating Giant,' Wall Street Journal, June 3, 1998, p. A11.
• McIvor, Greg, 'Big Is Beautiful, but Not Automatically,' Financial Times, June 18, 1998.
• McIvor, Greg, and Tim Burt, 'Paper Giants Open a New Chapter: The Stora-Enso Merger Could Be the First of Many,' Financial Times, June 3, 1998, p. 26.
• Moore, Stephen D., 'Scandinavian Paper Firms Wrestle with Price Declines,' Wall Street Journal, September 5, 1996, p. B8.
• Rydberg, Sven, En man föör sig: Emil Lundqvist och Stora Kopparberg under mellankrigstiden, Stockholm: Atlantis, 1985, 154 p.
• ------, The Great Copper Mountain: The Stora Story, Falun, Sweden: Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB, 1988, 244 p.
• ------, Stora Kopparberg: 1,000 Years of an Industrial Activity, Stockholm: Gullers International, 1979, 93 p.
• Salonen, O., 'Piirteita Parviaisen Tehtaiden synnysta ja kehityksesta,' Enso-Gutzeit Personnel Magazine, 75th Anniversary Issue, 1947.
• Starkman, Dean, 'Stora Enso to Buy Consolidated Papers,' Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2000, p. A3.
• 'Stora's Homespun Remedies Go Against the Industry Grain,' Financial Times, March 17, 1998, p. 36.
• Sullivan, Aline, 'Stora's Story: A Company As Old As the Millennium Puts on a New Face,' International Herald Tribune, November 27, 1999, p. 17.
• Taylor, Robert, 'Stora Builds Its Muscle in the Community,' Financial Times, April 30, 1990, p. 27.
• Urry, Maggie, 'Stora Stays with Go-Ahead Strategy After 700 Years,' Financial Times, June 16, 1988, p. 32.
• Verespej, Michael A., 'Who Owns Whose Trees?,' Industry Week, March 20, 2000, pp. 58+.
• Wyman, Vic, 'Enso Powers into Newsprint in Eastern Germany,' Pulp and Paper International, December 1994, p. 28.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 36. St. James Press, 2001.