Biotechnology has completely revolutionized research and development for the medical industry. This transformation has now also occurred in agriculture, starting in North America, with more and more industries focusing on the development of the biological raw material.

Next in line are the forest industries. Here, biotechnology might have an even more profound effect since this industry is based on an almost completely unselected biological material, and with a traditionally low focus on the importance of biological knowledge to develop the production and use of wood. This industry is now facing major challenges due to dramatically increased international competition and a large predicted increase in the demand for wood products.

We intend to assist the Swedish forest industries to face this challenge through the formation of the UPSC Centre for Forest Biotechnology (UCFB). Based on the excellent basic research on experimental plant biology and forest biotechnology at the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) we believe that, with the cooperation of the industry, this centre will serve as a catalyst to help the Swedish forest industries to develop their own research and development to face the challenges of the 21st century through the use of biotechnology, as well as enabling the creation of new companies and industries based on the sustainable production and use of renewable plant raw materials with new and superior properties.