Overview
Its core product, Fordaq.com, launched in 1999 as an online B2B marketplace for wood products and today serves more than 300,000 professionals across 190 countries, with price indices and trade flow analysis alongside the marketplace and company directory. Benoit Nieuwenhuys is Founder and CEO. Bruno Nieuwenhuys is Co-Founder and CTO, with a background in automated surface detection. Sampsa Auvinen is Chairman; he has chaired the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries and is Honorary President of the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry. Beyond the marketplace, Fordaq develops two software products. Tally Express, introduced in 2018, uses computer vision to measure lumber bundles automatically for yards, distributors and importers. Neural Grader is an AI vision system for automated lumber grading and yield optimisation in sawmills; it can be installed in 48 hours on existing production lines, has been distributed in North America by DMSi since October 2022, and was in production in North America and Europe by 2025. Fordaq exhibited Neural Grader at LIGNA 2025. The group employs about 65 people working in 14 languages, with offices in Brussels and Bucharest. It received EIC grant funding in 2019, has raised $4.2M in total with Net Fund Europe among its investors, and has made no acquisitions.
Funding history
- Total raised: $4.2M, investors include Net Fund Europe
- 2019 Grant: Prize money grants in February and July 2019, including from the EIC Fund
Stated facts & numbers
- Founded: 2000 (Fordaq.com launched 1999)
- Headquarters: Brussels (Avenue Louise, 1050)
- Offices: Brussels, Bucharest
- Founders: Benoit Nieuwenhuys (CEO), Bruno Nieuwenhuys (CTO)
- Chairman: Sampsa Auvinen
- Employees: 64
- Products: Fordaq.com, Tally Express, Neural Grader
- Members: 300,000+ professionals, 190 countries, 14 languages
- Total raised: $4.2M
- Investors: Net Fund Europe, EIC Fund (grant)
Key people
In the news
- German state-forest timber prices rise 13.9% German state-forest timber prices remained well above last year in July. The overall logging-products index reached 129.3, up 13.9% year-on-year. But the species picture was mixed: oak strengthened, spruce edged higher, while beech logs fell sharply month-on-month. For sawmills and forest owners, this is another reminder that roundwood prices are not moving evenly across species. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dYWCTWYC #Roundwood #Germany #TimberPrices #Sawmilling #Fordaq
- B.C. forest groups call for crisis plan A coalition of 15 British Columbia forest-sector organisations is asking for urgent action on fibre access, permitting and industry costs. The group says the current Crown harvest assumption is around 29 million m³ per year and wants a path toward about 45 million m³ of economically viable harvest. For B.C. manufacturers, the issue is simple: without more accessible fibre, more capacity will remain under pressure. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dZWw-2NG #Forestry #BritishColumbia #TimberSupply
- Headlam enters administration UK floorcoverings distributor Headlam has entered administration, with 28 trade counters closed and 154 jobs cut. The wider network is still trading, including 17 distribution centres and 48 trade counters, while administrators continue the restructuring process. For flooring, interiors and distribution suppliers, this is a clear sign that demand pressure is still moving through the building-products chain. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dvyxmyWE #Flooring #InteriorProducts #UKMarket #WoodProducts #Fordaq
- Twain Lumber to reopen Virginia sawmill Twain Lumber will invest US$7.4 million to purchase and restart the former Teal Jones sawmill in Henry County, Virginia. The site is expected to create 74 jobs, start with around 80 million board feet of annual capacity and later reach 108 million board feet. For the US South, this brings idle Southern Yellow Pine capacity back into production. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dDrSxmiV #Sawmilling #SouthernYellowPine #Virginia #LumberMarket #Fordaq
- NZ Super Fund raises US timberland mandate NZ Super Fund has increased its U.S. timberland mandate with Domain Timber Advisors from US$150 million to US$200 million. The original mandate has already been fully deployed, and the extra US$50 million will support further acquisitions and value-creation projects. For timberland markets, institutional capital is still looking at forests as a long-term asset class. Read more: https://lnkd.in/deGcK5qw #Timberland #ForestryInvestment #ForestAssets #Fordaq
- South Tyrol doubles timber-construction fund South Tyrol has doubled its annual timber-construction fund to €2.4 million. The programme now also includes private legal entities and links support to carbon stored in timber building elements and insulation. For timber-frame, mass-timber and component suppliers, this is a useful policy signal: public funding is increasingly tied to wood’s carbon-storage role. Read more: https://lnkd.in/d5GEEQHQ #TimberConstruction #WoodConstruction #CarbonStorage #Italy #Fordaq
- Sweden reviews forest industry’s crisis role Sweden has launched an inquiry into forestry and the forest industry’s role in national crisis preparedness and total defence. The review will look at how the sector functions during peacetime crises, heightened preparedness and war, with recommendations due by 28 February 2027. For the forest sector, this shows how timber, fibre, logistics and industrial capacity are becoming part of national resilience planning. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dkjy6kvM #Forestry #Sweden #TimberSupply
- PGS and Lecaro form Dutch pallet JV PGS Group has entered a joint venture with Dutch pallet company Lecaro. Lecaro sells around 2.4 million new and used pallets per year and will keep its own identity, organisation and management. For the pallet market, this is another consolidation move where local operations remain important inside a wider European network. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dfJXbXPz #Pallets #WoodPackaging #Logistics #WoodTrade #Fordaq
Something wrong or missing? Send an update. Fixed within 24 hours.