In 1952 Helsinki hosted the Summer Olympics, Finns tasted Coca-Cola for the first time – and in the same year a new sawmill business, Iivari Mononen Oy, was founded in Ilomantsi to produce sawn timber as part of Finland’s war-reparation obligations. Still a family-owned enterprise today, Iivari Mononen has since grown into an international group, its success built on a carefully executed growth strategy, bold renewal, a strong value base and a deeply committed workforce.
Originally focused on sawn-timber production in the early 1950s, the company soon expanded into supplying utility poles. Its first order of 800 raw poles opened the door to the British market, and deliveries quickly followed to other European impregnation plants – marking the start of Iivari Mononen’s international success story.
Current CEO Ari Mononen describes the 1990s as a period of industrialisation for the company. Under the leadership of the next generation, Iivari Mononen purchased the Höljäkkä impregnation plant in Nurmes and began producing impregnated poles directly for end customers.
- Work became more factory-like, with time clocks and shift patterns, Mononen recalls.
Ari himself joined in the late 1990s after studies and work experience at the European Forest Institute.
Working in the family business was not always a given. The rule was clear: even family members must have the right skills and an open position to match their competence. During his forestry studies, Ari realised he already possessed a great deal of practical know-how – experience that had been building since his school years, when he helped with pole marking and timber measurement during summer holidays in Ilomantsi. As a child, he once found envelopes at his grandfather’s desk labelled “Puutavaraliike Iivari Mononen Oy”. With a marker pen, young Ari changed “Iivari” into “Ari” – unknowingly sketching out his own future. Later, as a summer worker, he painted, marked poles, and measured timber in snowy forests, calling the figures out to his father waiting on the nearby forest road.
From those forest tracks, the journey has led far afield.
By the late 1990s the company had gained a foothold in North Africa and the Middle East, which became key markets. Sales efforts expanded across the Nordic countries and Central Europe, and the product range grew to include fencing posts.
In 2003, the company acquired two smaller timber treatment plants in Joensuu, merging them under the new subsidiary PrimaTimber Oy on the Greenpark site near the deep-water harbour, where operations remain today.
In 2004 the group purchased Metsä Group’s pole business in Mänttä-Vilppula, increasing its market share particularly in North Africa, the Middle East and the UK. Ari Mononen became CEO in 2006, and in 2010 Iivari Mononen acquired the Scandinavian company Scanpole, under which the pole operations were consolidated. Consumer products such as decking and fence posts were placed under PrimaTimber.
The 2000s brought challenges. The Arab Spring disrupted key markets in Libya, Syria and Yemen, but the company responded swiftly, strengthening its presence in Europe and Britain. In 2015 it acquired a British competitor in Newport - just ahead of Brexit’s currency and trade complications.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a digital ERP system proved invaluable in managing international operations and inventories. Despite the crisis, turnover climbed to €80 million.
The war in Ukraine had similar impacts to Brexit: disrupted supply chains, rising production costs, shortages of raw materials for impregnation chemicals, soaring logistics costs, and the closure of the Saimaa Canal. Thanks to strong strategic leadership and greater control of the production chain, the company weathered the storm.
For around a decade, Iivari Mononen also operated in electricity and fibre optic network construction, but a strategic decision was made to withdraw and refocus on timber – described by Mononen as the company’s true DNA.
Growth has continued through acquisitions. Last year, the group bought Irish company PDM Timber Treatment Ltd, expanding in Ireland and exceeding €100 million in turnover for the first time. The deal also extended timber procurement to North America. Procurement has also been strengthened within Finland in South Savo and South Karelia to secure raw material flows to the Nurmes plant.
Most recently, in spring this year, PrimaTimber acquired Swedish company Wood Support Westermark & Säily Ab, reinforcing its position in Northern European export markets.
Values such as courage, continuity and responsibility have guided the company now into its third generation. The corporate culture is nurtured through accessible leadership, regular factory visits, all-staff webinars and seamless cooperation. Plants communicate with each other and across the wider production network – an Irish factory manager can see the stock in Norway and vice versa.
Integrating subcontracting chains, successful recruitment and an optimised production chain have stabilised competitiveness. “It takes five years to grow into a pole man,” Mononen says – a testament to employee commitment and expertise.
Being a frontrunner in the green transition requires continuous product and process development. A major investment is currently underway: Europe’s most modern impregnation line is being built in Nurmes, with capacity for new, environmentally sustainable preservatives. The new production process has been developed in cooperation with the University of Eastern Finland and South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. Norwegian lines are being upgraded with the same capabilities.
The group is also enhancing its communications and sustainability reporting, with a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.
According to Ari Mononen, the company’s roots – and future – remain firmly in North Karelia. While location presents certain logistical challenges, it also provides proximity to raw materials. The Joensuu region’s supply of skilled labour is another advantage. Each year, students from local educational institutions are recruited for summer jobs, binding future talent to the company early on.
Mononen also stresses the importance of politics and regulation for business competitiveness: predictability and clarity in regulation are crucial for growth and vitality. For an international business, accessibility is also key – ensuring air connections to Joensuu remains vital.
With more than 200 employees, Iivari Mononen Group targets a turnover of around €140 million this year and €150 million by 2027.
The group is a major player in Joensuu, the European Forest Capital – a globally unique and networked hub where education at all levels, world-class companies, and top research meet.
Text: Anne-Maria Kankaisto
Photos: Iivari Mononen Oy
Further information:
Ari Mononen, CEO
ari.mononen@iivarimononen.fi