City of Lahti, Finland, has the opportunity to host the 6th International Conference of Hardwood Processing (ISCHP 2017) during September 25 to 28, 2017. The main events of the conference are arranged in the spectacular Sibelius Hall, an internationally acknowledged congress and concert center with attractive wooden interiors and excellent acoustics. Lahti region constitutes also one of the main hardwood industry clusters in Finland with versatile manufacturing of hardwood products and processing machinery, high-quality birch resources, and long history of education in wood products sector. The conference exhibits a continuum to the 10-year old history of ISCHP, the previous events being in Canada (2007 and 2015), France (2009), USA (2011), and Italy (2013). The scientific collaborators in the ISCHP family, listed before in page 2, take in turn the responsibility of the conference organization, and now it is the Finnish turn. Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) is the responsible organizer of this conference with a substantial support from University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and Aalto University. We are especially happy of this unique task in 2017, while Republic of Finland celebrates its centennial history as an independent country. The main objective of this conference is to bring together the scientific and research communities working on hardwood, from the source to the customer, to share knowledge and ideas. Around 80 international experts, scientists, government employees, hardwood industry representatives, suppliers, and customers attend the conference to discuss recent progress and innovative work in this valuable area of wood-based economy. Topics covered by ISCHP 2017 1) Forest management, wood procurement, wood properties and quality and analysis of hardwoods 2) Markets, sustainability, and value chains of hardwood cluster 3) Hardwood product development and performance 4) Hardwood processing, optimization and technology development for solid and composite products 5) Hardwood biorefining and value-added chemical products This conference book contains abstracts of all presentations in the conference, descriptions of industry and field visits and practical information for the attendees. A total of 42 scientific oral and poster presentations from 131 authors coming from 22 countries, and four keynote presentations from invited academic and industry experts provide the basis for the scientific success of ISCHP 2017. Papers written on the presentations have undergone a scientific peer-review process. They are available for readers in an electronic format in the Conference Proceedings. On behalf of the organizing committee of the conference, I have the pleasure to wish the very best results and pleasure from the scientific and industry contents and networking with colleagues, not to talk about an enjoyable time in Lahti region. Erkki Verkasalo Chair of ISCHP 2017