Our history

Rooted in History

Stora Enso was formed in 1998 through the merger of the Finnish company Enso Oyj and the Swedish company Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags Aktiebolag (STORA). But our history dates back more than 700 years. Before Stora Enso as it is today, let's walk through our history.

Stora Kopparberg, Stora and Enso

Before there was Stora Enso, there was Finnish company Enso Oyj and Swedish company Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags Aktiebolag (STORA.) The first recorded documentation of Stora operations is from 1288, namely copper mining near Falun, Sweden. This business progressed to become Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag in 1862 and encompass mining, iron, and wood activities.

While it was several hundred years before any pulp, board or paper was produced, forestry was always a central part of the company. Wood was needed as fuel and for heating the copper ore to extract the metal. In the 1970s, Stora sold its mining and metal operations to focus on forestry, pulp and paper.

The Enso part of the company dates back to 1872, when the W. Gutzeit & Co sawmill firm was founded in Kotka, Finland by the Norwegian Hans Gutzeit. It was one of the first steam-powered sawmills in Finland. In 1912, Gutzeit acquired the Enso träsliperi AB. By the late 1990s, following a number of mergers and acquisitions over the years, Enso-Gutzeit had become Finland's largest forestry company. In 1996, after a merger with Veitsiluoto, the company took the name Enso Oy.

The Story Continues

Today, the transformation continues. Stora Enso focuses on the possibilities of renewable materials, with the forest and trees as the foundation.

Highlights from our history

The 1200s The 1800s The 1900s The 2000s

The 1200s

1288 - First documents of the Swedish mining company Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag.

Image: 1/8 share of the Stora Kopparberg mine, dated 16 June 1288.

The 1800s

1872 - The Enso branch of the company emerge with the establishment of a steam-powered sawmill in Kotka, Finland, by Hans Gutzeit.
1862 - This business progressed to become Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag encompassing mining, iron, and wood activities.

The 1900s

1998 - Stora Enso was formed through the merger of the Finnish Enso Oyj and the Swedish STORA.

The 2000s

2024 - Stora Enso initiated the sale of approximately 12% of its 1.4 million hectares of forest assets in Sweden.
2023 - Acquisition of De Jong Packaging Group in the Netherlands. Paper business is discontinued.
2021 - The converted paper machine at the Oulu mill in Finland starts production of packaging board.
2019 - Stora Enso issues its frst green bonds.
2018 - Acquisition of forest assets in Sweden led to a total of 1.4 million hectares in holdings.
2016 - Start-up of the Beihai mill in China. The converted paper machine at the Varkaus mill in Finland starts production of containerboard.
2014 - Start-up of the Montes del Plata pulp mill in Uruguay (50% owned joint venture).
2005 - Start-up of the Veracel pulp mill in Brazil (50% owned joint operation).