Spinnova's New Wood Fiber Fabric Displayed for the First Time

The new fibre fabric was worn at the reception by Spinnova’s CEO Janne Poranen and his wife Nina Poranen. Janne Poranen’s tailcoat vest, bow tie and pocket square and the rosettes of Nina Poranen’s evening gown were made from a fabric based on Spinnova’s new yarn.

Janne Poranen is the CEO of Spinnova Oy, which began operating in Jyväskylä in 2015. It is one of the most promising startups in Finland. On December 6, 2016 Spinnova was selected among the best 8 European cleantech startup companies at European Venture Summit EVS2016 at Dusseldorf.

Spinnova uses a globally unique technology to turn wood fibres directly into yarn. It could revolutionise both the textile and forest industry and generate significant business in the future. No harmful chemicals or energy or water-consuming steps are required as in the viscose process. The environmental footprint will be much smaller than in the case of the polymer or cotton fibre processes.

In the Spinnova manufacturing wood fibres form in the same direction and become something closely resembling a filament fibre. The method was resulted from an idea by Juha Salmela, co-founder of Spinnova, to combine the web-weaving method of spiders with paper manufacture. The most suitable raw material is provided by spruce and pine.

One of the partners of Spinnova is Austria-based Lenzing AG. In February 2015, Spinnova won the international biorefinery contest organised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland, and in 2016, it was named as one of the 20 most promising Finnish startups.