Control forest fires with an environmentally friendly solution

Kiilto and PPO-Elektroniikka Oy have combined their expertise and developed an environmentally friendly fire-fighting chemical for extinguishing forest fires and wildfires.

Kiilto’s 100-year expertise in the chemical industry and PPO-Elektroniikka’s more than 30 years of experience in fire extinguishing technology made it possible to develop this unique solution. Kiilto is responsible for the manufacture of the product and PPO-Elektroniikka for its marketing and the development of the spreading technique.

Kiilto Pro ForExt prevents the spread of fire

“Forest fires are the biggest contributor to fine particulate emissions in the world, and the situation is getting worse with global warming. Using our green solution, we can quickly and cost-effectively stop forest fires with our environmentally safe extinguishing chemical. Kiilto is the best possible partner with its strong expertise and long experience in the chemical industry,” says Timo Ohtonen, Managing Director of PPO-Electronics, with satisfaction. 

“At Kiilto, we have seen a clear need from our customer base for the development of environmentally friendly fire retardants. When Timo contacted Kiilto, we already had some product ideas and, with some refining, we came up with a suitable solution for stopping forest fires from spreading. PPO-Elektroniikka has fire protection expertise and good connections with operators in the field, so it was natural for us to start working with them,” explains Juha Rinne, Customer Service Manager of Kiilto.

PPO Elektroniikka already tested a similar method in the 1990s. However, the situation was different at that time: forest fires were not a particularly serious problem, so demand did not yet match supply. It has been a long journey to the 2020s, and forest fires have now become a huge global threat.       

Catastrophic global situation – climate change and human activity increase forest fires

Forest fires and wildfires cause damage worth hundreds of billions of dollars globally. Carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires amounted to approximately 7.8 billion tonnes in 2019.

Fires that are difficult to control are occurring more and more often around the world due to increasing heat, drought and human activity. In 2019–2020, Brazil, Russia, Australia, Indonesia and the United States have had the highest number of forest fires and wildfires.

In Finland, the problem is still small compared to the global situation. The average number of forest fires in Finland is 2,000 per year. The effects of global warming are gradually becoming apparent in Finland as well.

Kiilto and PPO-Elektroniikka – strong Finnish family businesses  

PPO-Elektroniikka Oy specialises in professional electronics and security technology. The company has been producing tailored technology solutions to improve safety and minimise damage for almost 40 years. Representing the company’s own production, the MEV insulation level monitoring system monitors the electrical safety of operating rooms 24/7. The fifth-generation MEV-8 system is already being exported to 17 countries. The PPO team has been supplying Finnish water mist extinguishing systems to more than a hundred large sites in Russia since the early 2000s.  

Kiilto is a growing Finnish family-owned company with a hundred-year history. The company develops, manufactures and markets chemical industry solutions in four business areas: construction, industrial bonding, professional hygiene and consumer goods. Kiilto develops environmentally friendly fire retardants, for example, for the wood industry and the paper and packaging industry.

More information:

Kiilto, Tomi Takala, Business Director of Industrial Fastening Solutions, tel. 050 382 9208, tomi.takala@kiilto.com

PPO-Elektroniikka Oy, CEO Timo Ohtonen, tel. 0400 420 393, timo.ohtonen@ppo-elektroniikka.fi