Valmet acquires Tieto TIPS MES to digitize 300 pulp and paper plants

Valmet has finalized an agreement to acquire the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) business from Tieto, a transaction that fundamentally expands its digital footprint across the global pulp, paper, and fiber industries. The deal centers on the TIPS MES platform and its accompanying Order-to-Cash solution, effectively handing Valmet the digital infrastructure for production planning and execution at approximately 300 manufacturing sites worldwide.

Securing the digital layer of the mill

This is not a conventional equipment sale. By absorbing a software division that generated 32 million euros in revenue during 2025, Valmet is securing the critical digital layer that connects enterprise resource planning to the machine floor. The TIPS MES platform brings established artificial intelligence capabilities into Valmet’s existing Automation Solutions portfolio, bridging the historical gap between process control and mill-wide production scheduling.

The push for autonomous operations

The strategic intent behind the acquisition is clear: accelerating the transition toward autonomous operations. For decades, the paper industry has focused on optimizing individual machine sections. Now, the operational bottleneck is mill-wide data integration. Integrating Tieto’s MES allows Valmet to offer a unified architecture where production planning, quality control, and order management operate seamlessly alongside the physical machinery.

The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to finalize in the second quarter of 2027. For mill operators, this market consolidation signals a shift toward tighter integration between heavy machinery and the algorithms dictating their daily production schedules, reducing the reliance on fragmented software vendors.