The European woodworking and sawmilling industries are an integral part of Europe’s manufacturing base. Every day, thousands of companies transform a renewable European raw material into innovative, sustainable and high-value products, creating employment, supporting rural economies and contributing to the EU’s climate and circular bioeconomy objectives.

Our industry is unique. The raw material we use originates from European forests managed under some of the world’s most ambitious and stringent sustainability standards. From the forest to the finished product, our value chain is deeply rooted in Europe. We are proud to say that our products are 100% Made in Europe.

For this reason, the competitiveness of European manufacturing is not an abstract policy debate: Europe must remain a place where companies can invest, innovate and manufacture competitively while continuing to uphold the highest environmental, social and governance standards.

This is why the European Convoy for Industrial Competitiveness, an initiative led by EUROMETAL that brings together manufacturing industries from across Europe under a common objective: ensuring that Europe remains an attractive place to produce, invest and create quality jobs, is an important initiative.

On 7 September 2026, companies and organisations from across the industrial value chain will gather in front of the European Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters in Brussels to send a clear message to European policymakers: Keep Manufacturing in Europe.

For the wood industry, maintaining a strong manufacturing base means safeguarding an industrial ecosystem that starts with sustainably managed European forests and extends through sawmills, wood processing industries and manufacturers of innovative wood products. It also means recognising the strategic contribution of wood-based industries to Europe’s resilience, bioeconomy, climate ambitions and economic prosperity.

While the initiative is coordinated by EUROMETAL, its message is relevant to all manufacturing sectors. E

Learn more about the initiative here.