Henkel Engineered Wood Partnership with Stora Enso

Stora Enso is a global bioeconomy company. It is the oldest active public listed company dating back to 1288 when it was first mentioned in the books. It has its heritage in the forests and working with trees as a raw material has always been at the core of their business. Today, Stora Enso is a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction and paper. Its product portfolio and R&D roadmap are built upon a sustainable forest management and is making significant investment in recycling, driving circular economy technologies, innovative new products and processes along the value chain.

Stora Enso’s vision is that “everything that is made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow”. 

A 15 Year Collaboration

Stora Enso is #1 in Europe and #4 worldwide in sawn wooden products as well as a leading provider of wood-based solutions. Part of the solutions are engineered wooden elements such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) or laminated veneer lumber (LVL). The journey with CLT started with a single mill in Austria in 2008. Today it is on track to become one of the world’s largest CLT producers with three CLT plants, and a fourth in the Czech Republic on its way. Once ramped up, Stora Enso’s annual CLT capacity will be 400,000 m³. (Source: Holzkurier CLT Special, Vienna 2020).

Stora Enso was one of the first to manufacture CLT at an industrial scale. Early on, it engaged Henkel Engineered Wood for its one-component polyurethane (1C-PUR) adhesive solutions, tapping into Henkel’s experience in the CLT segment and its experience supplying industrial adhesives to large-scale electronics, furniture, and automotive manufacturers.

The fact that Henkel’s Loctite HB S and HB X adhesives are high performance yet contain no solvents, no formaldehyde, create no liquid waste, and add no toxic emissions to the finished goods are certainly other important reasons. They align well with Stora Enso’s values for sustainability and well-being.

New CLT Capacity and New Markets

Lately, the two companies have been working together at Stora Enso’s new state of the art CLT production mill in Zdirec, Czech Republic, featuring a large-scale production line. Henkel is working closely with the mill engineering teams to optimize adhesive processing. For example, an additional inline high-precision water or primer pre-treatment will be integrated to ensure a flawless activation and bonding of the wood substrates.

International Markets

Stora Enso is delivering CLT to a large extent within Europe, however also delivering to international markets such as Asia, Australia, Oceania and North America. It uses Loctite HB S and Loctite HB X, depending on the local specifics and market requirements.

Loctite HB X is the Henkel formulation that meets the latest high-temperature and strength specifications defined in ANSI/APA PRG 320-2019: Standard for Performance-Rated Cross-Laminated Timber. Henkel is the only 1C-PUR adhesive supplier that is certified for the North American market.

Today, Stora Enso is one of the few European CLT manufacturers to achieve the milestone of a North American certification approval.

Besides the North American market certifications for HB X, Henkel also achieved Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) certification for its Loctite HB S-line. These are growth enabling milestones for Henkel’s HB X and HB S customers.

Expanding Product Portfolio

When Stora Enso decided to add rib panels to its product portfolio, Henkel brought its know-how and experience to the production team. In parallel, the Henkel team supported certification of the rib panels for the European market.

Besides CLT, Stora Enso also manufactures laminated veneer lumber (LVL) for a variety of structural applications. It tapped Henkel for process know-how and its high-performing Loctite HB S adhesives for a new secondary gluing step in its LVL production line.

Process Optimization: Higher Speed Bonding

As a leading provider of wood-based solutions, Stora Enso is constantly optimizing its processes, finding ways to enhance quality, reduce waste, while maximizing efficiency and output. Henkel has worked closely with Stora Enso over the years to reach its goals. For example, Henkel helped with the CLT adhesive process at its Bad St. Leonhard mill, Austria. By using Loctite HB S089 and HB S069, Stora Enso was able to achieve faster bonding, optimizing assembly and pressing times, and of course, higher output leading in even more efficient product.

Henkel Quote by Christian Fild, Global Head of Henkel Engineered Wood

“As a global market leader Henkel Engineered Wood is proud to be working with Stora Enso. Collaborating with a fast-moving, goal-oriented partner like Stora Enso enables us to constantly improve and expand our portfolio”.

Stora Enso Quote by Gernot Weiß, Head of Building Solutions Product Development, Stora Enso Wood Products

“Stora Enso is at the forefront of developing and expanding the mass timber market with CLT customers around the world. We are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in timber construction by investing in sustainable building solutions developments and product innovation. That is why we rely on partners like Henkel Engineered Wood. Not only is Henkel aligned with our vision of a sustainable construction, but it also keeps pace with Stora Enso’s growth, innovation, and business development.”