The Finnish company UPM is investing 390 million euro in infrastructure and a new paper machine at its Changshu mill in China.
The company call themselves a Biofore company. Using the self invented concept to describe their business strategy of integrating bio and forest industri. Their business in Changshu is paper production. Their paper mill has a production capacity of 920.000 tons annual. The investment of 390 million euro is expected to top that with additional 360.000 tons.
The investment in Changshu is part of UPM’s strategy to reshape its business portfolio and expand in profitable growth businesses in Asia.
“This move is aligned with our strategic target to have more than 50 per cent of our sales from well performing growth businesses in the latter part of the decade,” says Jussi Pesonen, UPM’s President and CEO.
The new machine is an uncoated woodfree speciality machine producing uncoated woodfree grades and high quality label papers. Both label paper and uncoated woodfree papers have a healthy demand outlook in Asia. The annual growth of UPM’s label paper mix is expected to be eight per cent in Asia and four per cent globally. In uncoated woodfree grades, UPM focuses on high quality office paper, where the Chinese market is expected to grow by eight per cent annually.
The UPM Changshu paper mill is located 90 kilometres west of Shanghai at the banks of Yangtze River. It has its own power plant and its own harbour, handling transport of raw-materials and finished paper products.
