Pulp & Beyond brought the international forest-based bioeconomy industry to Helsinki
The international professional event and conference for the forest-based bioeconomy industry, Pulp & Beyond 2026, was held from 14 to 17 April 2026 at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. Together with the chemical and bioindustry event ChemBio Finland and the chemical safety forum Helsinki Chemicals Forum, the event attracted more than 8,400 visitors and 257 exhibitors.
Pulp & Beyond opened on Tuesday with a sold‑out conference attended by 380 participants. The conference welcomed delegates from 24 countries, with the most distant visitors travelling from destinations including Brazil, Malaysia and Singapore. The exhibition, held from Wednesday to Thursday on 15–16 April, once again served as a key meeting place for the forest-based bioeconomy industry in Northern Europe. The technical excursions organised on Friday were also popular, particularly among international visitors.
The exhibition and conference provided companies with extensive opportunities for both commercial meetings and networking. According to pump manufacturer Sulzer, the event met expectations.
“We have had numerous discussions with our existing customers and, in addition, created many new contacts. There were also plenty of visitors from the ChemBio Finland side, which opened up valuable joint discussions from the perspectives of pulp, paper and board operations. The visitor profile also highlighted international guests, researchers and students,” says Sirpa Välimaa, Head of the Business Segment for the Pulp, Paper and Board Industry at Sulzer.
The future of the industry was also strongly represented at the event. Forestry students attended Pulp & Beyond in large numbers, engaging with companies on career opportunities and recruitment.
Timo Koivunen, Lead Account Manager at technology company Honeywell, says the company made broad use of the event.
“The trade fair has been a successful two busy days. We have made many good contacts, and we use the event as a hub both for meeting our key customers and for acquiring new ones. The student day is also excellent: it allows us to raise early awareness of our brand, technologies and needs among students. These are important aspects for us.”
The overall event also received positive feedback from the organiser. Anssi Rajala, Business Manager at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, considers Pulp & Beyond 2026 a success.
“Based on the discussions held during the event, we have been able to connect companies commercially and bring the right target groups together. The fully booked conference for the second consecutive time was also a significant achievement for Pulp & Beyond. This provides a strong foundation for continuing to develop the event as a cornerstone of the forest-based bioeconomy industry sector in Northern Europe.”
Pulp & Beyond 2026 was organised by the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre in cooperation with Puunjalostusinsinöörit ry PI. The next Pulp & Beyond event will be held in spring 2028 at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre.
