The Team Finland network and the State of Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry are organizing a trade mission to Maine on September 21–25, 2025.
In 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote collaboration in forestry. Over the past six years, Finland and Maine have actively explored joint opportunities, including study tours, seminars, business delegations, B2B meetings, and co-innovation efforts. The MoU supports ongoing public and private sector collaboration in forestry between the two regions.
Both Finland and Maine derive significant economic, environmental, and social value from their forests. They also share many common challenges and opportunities in forest management and utilization. The forest bioeconomy presents a key area for joint research and knowledge exchange, particularly in biotechnology, bioindustrial development, and materials design.
Key areas of collaboration include:
- Academic and policy initiatives
- Information exchange and scientific cooperation
- Forest bioeconomy applications
- Wood construction and wooden building solutions
- Product standards development
- Refinery practices and bioproduct innovation (e.g. advanced building materials, medical devices, textiles)
- Environmental aspects of wood-based products in climate change mitigation
- Economics and market development of forestry and forest products
- Enhanced data collection and forest management practices.
During the upcoming trade mission, these areas will be actively discussed and further developed. The delegation will meet with industry leaders, research institutions, forest management bodies, and other key stakeholders. Participants will gain a broad understanding of Maine’s forestry sector, including CLT and sawmill operations, wood product manufacturing, biodiversity, and architectural use of wood.
Who Should Attend?
Are you looking to grow in the U.S. market? This visit is aimed at both current and potential collaborators in the forest bioeconomy and wood construction sectors.
We invite companies and organizations involved in:
- The Finnish forest industry
- Wood processing machinery and technologies
- Wood construction and building materials
- Wooden architecture
- Forestry and forest management
- Forest machinery and digital solutions
- New wood-based product innovation
- Academic, educational, and research fields
- Government ministries and public organizations.
Practicalities
To cover the expenses of arranging the visit program in US, Business Finland will charge participation fees of:
- Major Companies: 1400 EUR + 25,5% VAT per person
- Micro Businesses and SMEs: 1200 EUR + 25,5% VAT per person
Business Finland will invoice the participants after the visit based on the actual costs. The invoiced fee will not exceed the amounts mentioned above. Kindly note that the participation fee does not include flights or accommodation of the delegate.
Additional opportunity
The Team Finland network is also organizing a visit to Canada on 5-9 October, which may also be of interest to you. You can find the invitation for Canada visit and read more about it here: Team Finland visit to Canada.
Why Maine? Strategic Advantages
- Market Proximity: Access to over 80 million U.S. and Canadian consumers within 800 km
- Resource Rich: 7+ million hectares of diverse forestland
- Industry Ready: Skilled workforce and established infrastructure
- Research & Development: Home to Carnegie R1 research universities
- Global Access: Deep-water ports and multimodal transport options
Additional activity in maine for finnish companies
UNLOCK U.S. GROWTH Bioproduct Market Expansion Accelerator
In addition to the upcoming delegation visit to Maine, Maine International Trade Center and Maine bioproducts & advanced manufacturing Tech hub are launching a new accelerator program for Finnish industries and research organizations called UNLOCK U.S. GROWTH Bioproduct Market Expansion Accelerator. The new Accelerator will give companies more time to explore Maine's market opportunities and forest resources.
The Accelerator offers the following activities: Tailored market assessment & entry plan, In-market program with B2B, government, financial incentives & investments meetings, site visits, industry networking, connections with potential partners, milestone check-ins, & continued market entry guidance. For more information please contact ulla.lainio (at) businessfinland.fi or berger (at) mitc.com
