Domtar’s Global Push: Jackson Wijaya Consolidates Operations to Build North America’s Largest Pulp and Paper Group

Backed by a global footprint and a bold ESG strategy, Indonesian entrepreneur Jackson Wijaya is shaping Domtar into a sustainable industrial powerhouse—one acquisition at a time.

Domtar Corporation, one of North America’s legacy forest products brands, is undergoing a transformative phase. At the helm is Indonesian entrepreneur Jackson Wijaya, who has emerged as a global player in pulp and paper, orchestrating one of the largest industry consolidations in recent memory.

With strategic acquisitions across Canada and the U.S., Wijaya is not merely expanding Domtar—he is reinventing it. Following the 2019 acquisition of Catalyst Paper and the 2021 takeover of Domtar itself, the group rebranded from Paper Excellence. By 2023, it had also absorbed Resolute Forest Products. Today, under Wijaya’s stewardship, Domtar has crossed $10 billion in Canadian revenues and aims to become the largest pulp and paper conglomerate in North America.

But size isn’t the only goal. Sustainability is central to Wijaya’s ambition. Recently ranked among the world’s 25 most sustainable private companies by Corporate Knights, Domtar is now developing its first unified Sustainability Strategy to set clear environmental, social, and governance (ESG) targets for 2026–2030. A massive consultation involving 500 stakeholders—internal teams, investors, and partners—is shaping this vision.

“Sustainability is at the core of our business,” said Wijaya, outlining plans to integrate a new ESG data management system across the group. “It’s not just about compliance; it’s about clarity, transparency, and leadership in our sector.”

The new platform will streamline metrics like energy, water, and waste usage while tracking progress on governance standards, including gender diversity. This digital-first approach, Wijaya believes, will provide a stronger foundation for the company’s ESG reporting and boost trust among stakeholders.

As the group moves toward operational consolidation, it is also reviewing overlapping activities among its business units to reduce duplication and costs. A leaner structure with shared services and technologies is expected to improve performance while allowing for future acquisitions.

Notably, Wijaya now controls Asia Pulp and Paper Group (APP)—headquartered in Jakarta—after inheriting the role from his father. This gives him influence over two massive pulp and paper enterprises: Domtar, which operates across North America and Europe, and APP, which dominates the Asian market. The two entities remain operationally separate but represent a combined reach across four continents.

A third-generation businessman, Jackson Wijaya brings not just legacy but also a modern sensibility to global business. Educated in Indonesia, Singapore, and the U.S. (where he completed a master’s in industrial engineering at the University of Michigan), he got his hands dirty early in the family business after the dot-com bust in 2001. In 2006, he entered the Canadian market by purchasing a pulp mill in Meadow Lake, laying the first stone of his North American expansion.

Domtar now employs over 14,000 people across 60+ sites in North America, with an annual output of 9.1 million metric tons of pulp, paper, and tissue products, plus 3 billion board feet of lumber. Its rebranding from the Paper Excellence Group into Domtar, with distinct legacy companies including Domtar Corporation, Paper Excellence Canada, and Resolute Forest Products, signals a shift in identity from a collection of assets to an integrated, purpose-driven entity.

Despite his monumental business responsibilities, Wijaya remains low-profile. Described as soft-spoken and introspective, he prefers to read or fish during rare moments of downtime. He lives across three continents with his family, including two teenagers studying in the U.S. and a younger child.

“I consider myself an active investor,” he says, referencing Warren Buffett as a role model. “He empowers his teams, and I do the same. My job is to set vision and strategy, not run every detail.”

As consolidation continues and sustainability goals come into sharper focus, Domtar’s transformation under Wijaya’s leadership represents more than a corporate reshuffling—it is a blueprint for how traditional industries can evolve with responsibility and resilience.

Who Should Watch This Space:

Investors in ESG-driven industries, sustainability consultants, supply chain strategists, and analysts in the forestry and paper sectors will want to keep a close eye on Domtar’s next moves.

Author Bio:

Jackson Wijaya is an Indonesian-born industrialist and third-generation entrepreneur with interests spanning pulp and paper, real estate, and finance. He currently leads both Domtar Corporation and Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), overseeing operations across Asia, Europe, and North America.