Pöyry

Pöyry PLC, which merged in 2019 with Swedish company ÅF into AFRY, was an international consulting and engineering firm that served clients globally across the energy and industrial sectors and provided local engineering services in its core markets. Its focus sectors were power generation, transmission, and distribution; forest industries; chemicals and biorefining; mining and metals; transportation and water. It changed its name from Jaakko Pöyry Group in 2006. The company was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and was headquartered in Vantaa, Finland.[2]

The company was founded by Jaakko Pöyry, who spearheaded its growth from a small engineering office in Finland to a global corporation in his special field of interest, the forest products industry.

Pöyry delivered around 10,000 projects annually including engineering consulting services for major projects such as:

The world's longest traffic tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland
The world's largest combined power and desalination plant, Ras al-Khair in Saudi Arabia

Controversies

In 2011, Pöyry was commissioned by the Government of Laos (GoL) to review whether GoL had complied with the guidelines of the Mekong River Commission in their commencement of the controversial Xayaburi Dam Project (the first major hydropower dam on the mainstream of the lower Mekong). Pöyry's conclusion was that “Xayaburi HPP has principally been designed in accordance with the applicable MRC Design Guidelines”. However, they later go on to state "With additional investigations…it should be possible to fully meet the MRC Design Guidelines requirements relating to the Xayaburi HPP."[5] Despite this contention, they concluded "the decision whether or not to proceed with the project rests solely with the Government of Laos".[6]

On 11 June 2012, a number of NGOs filed a complaint to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in Finland, concerning Pöyry PLC and Swiss subsidiary Pöyry Energy AG, relating to the Xayaburi hydropower plant project. On 18 June 2013, the ministry released a statement that Pöyry complied with OECD guidelines for corporate social responsibility. The ministry stated that Pöyry's actions served to mitigate the environmental impacts of the project. Pöyry acted as a technical consultant to the Lao government, however did not participate in the assessment of the environmental and social impact or in the decision-making process.

On 1 October 2015, Pöyry Finland, a subsidiary of Pöyry PLC, was handed a sanction of debarment by the World Bank for four distinct cases of "fraudulent practices". Under the sanction Pöyry Finland and its subsidiaries were barred from participating in World Bank-funded projects for a period of one year starting 30 September 2015.[7]

According to a Pöyry press release, "Neither Pöyry PLC nor any other subsidiary companies of Pöyry PLC are affected by this sanction, and remain eligible to participate in World Bank Group financed projects. The decision relates to a water sector project in Vietnam in 2008, where Pöyry Finland Oy (as successor to Pöyry Environment Oy) was found to have not complied with the Bank's administrative rules. No unlawful conduct by Pöyry Finland Oy or its employees has been identified in this connection."[8]

native name	Pöyry Oyj
native name lang	fi
type	Julkinen osakeyhtiö
traded as	omx: HEX24281 POY1V
founder	Jaakko Pöyry
num locations	Offices in 45 countries
industry	Engineering
products	Engineering and project management, management consulting
services	Management Consulting; Engineering Services;
num employees	4,881 (2019)‡R1R‡
foundation	1958
hq location	Helsinki, Finland
profit	EUR 4 million (2015)
homepage	www.poyry.com

Organisation

Financial information

Controversies

Company ranking

External links

References