Destaclean Oy has rethought the concept of processing, recycling and using construction waste. The company has developed Wood Stone, which is an innovative solution to the environmental challenges faced by concrete construction. From now on, the operations will grow with support from the private equity company Juuri Partners Oy.
Destaclean and its circular economy concept brings construction waste processing to a new level. The company has launched a unique innovation in concrete building onto the market. Destaclean’s ecological composite material, Wood Stone, has been met with great enthusiasm, and it also has considerable application and licensing possibilities on the international market. Destaclean is the only company in Finland to hold the End of Waste certification for the production of wood fibre from recycled wood, which allows the commercial production of Wood Stone products. The company is growing rapidly and has decided to invite Juuri Fund I Ky to became a shareholder by the recent transaction to fuel further growth of the company. The fund invests in the SME sector and is managed by Juuri Partners Oy. The current majority shareholders Reino Partanen and Matti Hallinen will continue as Destaclean’s majority shareholders and they will continue in their current positions at the company.
“Juuri Partners’ involvement guarantees us quicker growth and product development. The arrangement allows Destaclean to focus on the development of a collaboration-based service model together with its partners and customers. We also have access to strategic and operative expertise to further develop the Wood Stone product applications and implement the growth strategy that we’ve prepared with Juuri Partners,” explains Destaclean’s Chairman of the Board Reino Partanen.
“Destaclean fits Juuri Fund’s investment strategy perfectly,” says Juuri Partners’ Managing Director Samuli Sipilä. “Its growth potential is significant, as the operations to recycle construction waste have only really started in Finland. The EU Waste Framework Directive provides that 70 per cent of construction and demolition waste, excluding soil and stones, must be recycled by 2020. At present, Finland has only reached a recycling level of about 40 per cent.”
Highly integrated recycling process
Destaclean Oy, established in 1998, approaches the processing of construction waste from the circular economy angle. The aim is to minimise the amount of waste being disposed of and to launch new and innovative recycled materials and products. The company has developed the highly integrated Destaclean® concept to be implemented in the reception, sorting, processing and reuse of construction waste. Destaclean’s recycling points for materials are located in Helsinki and Tuusula. The aim is to extend the operations to other locations in Finland. Juuri Partners’ investment will be used to fund the construction of the modern raw materials plant in the Kelatie industrial estate in Tuusula.
Wood Stone rousing interest
Destaclean’s first commercial product innovation, Wood Stone, is suitable for landscaping purposes. Wood Stone is a cement technology-based composite that contains wood fibre made of recycled wood chips.
There is a real market for the product, as concrete is the most extensively used building material in the world, and its production accounts for about 5 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions globally. If 20-60 per cent of the cement mass volume is replaced with recycled wood fibre, the impact on the environment will be reduced by almost the same proportion.
Wood Stone can be used as a material for a variety of eco-friendly products that are characterised by toughness, lightness and durability as well as sound-insulating and processibility properties. Wood Stone cement can also be replaced, to a high level, with blast-furnace cinder and wood ash, resulting in the recycling level of Wood Stone being more than 90 per cent.
“Wood Stone is currently used for landscaping, but the material is quickly becoming common in a wider range of applications, such as noise barriers and slabs suitable for soft soil. Eco-friendliness is an interesting and growing trend in the construction industry, and it has also roused a lot of interest in Wood Stone. We are in negotiations on licensing it on the global market. We have received enquiries from Central Europe and even China,” says Destaclean’s Managing Director Kimmo Rinne.
Destaclean is constantly developing new products in order to maximise the recycling rate of construction waste. Tests prove that materials processed from mixed construction waste are also suitable for producing plastic composites.
Further information:
Samuli Sipilä, Managing Director, Juuri Partners Oy, tel. +358 40 771 1764, email: samuli.sipila@juuripartners.fi
Reino Partanen, Chairman of the Board, Destaclean Oy, tel. +358 45 775 02600, email: reino.partanen@destaclean.fi
Kimmo Rinne, Managing Director, Destaclean Oy, tel. +358 40 195 9971, email: kimmo.rinne@destaclean.fi
Juuri Fund I Ky is a Finnish private equity investment fund which offers financing to established and profitable small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland. The fund in managed by Juuri Partners Oy. Juuri Partners offers growth-focused companies a new business development and financing concept which combines active minority ownership, business operation support and debt financing. The fund currently holds approximately 80 million euros and has investments from several significant institutional investors from Finland.
Destaclean Oy is a privately owned Finnish growth company that specialises in recycling construction and packaging materials. It promotes recycling of materials as described in the Waste Act by receiving and sorting waste and developing recycled materials and products under its Destaclean® concept. The company has sites in Helsinki, Tuusula and Hyvinkää. Its turnover is EUR 8.5 million, and it employs a permanent staff of 40, of whom 18 work directly for the company. Destaclean Oy is a member of the Finnish Environmental Industries YTP.