FFIF appoint new president

Photo: FFIF [4]

The Executive Board of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) has appointed Mr. Timo Jaatinen as the next President of the Federation. He is currently the Managing Director of the Finnish Port Association and will transfer to the new position during the first months of 2010. In addition to these positions, he has previously held several positions as Adviser to the Minister in several ministries in Finland.

"Timo Jaatinen's strong lobbying background, understanding of business life and society as well as his experience of EU-level issues and participation in the activities of European industry organisations make him well qualified to serve as the President of the Federation,” says FFIF Chairman Kari Jordan, CEO of the Metsäliitto Group.

“Promoting the forest industry’s operating environment in order to create operating conditions in Finland that are equal to those of the competitor countries will be the central task of the new President. At the same time, it is important to strengthen the industry’s opportunities for success. This will facilitate the creation of new business activities based on the utilisation of a renewable raw material alongside the manufacturing of existing bioproducts,” Chairman Jordan continues.

“Strengthening the competitiveness of the forest industry is of great significance to the entire national economy of Finland. We cannot recover from the economic downturn if the operating environment of export industries is not looked after in a way that establishes new openings for the future success of Finland. The majority of the forest industry’s production is exported, and this further emphasises the importance of a cost-effective transport and logistics sector,” says Timo Jaatinen.