Leading forest products group UPM is pressing further into China where it plans to become a leading supplier of labels, it said yesterday.
The Finnish firm, whose main products include printing paper, converted materials and wood products, launched its Asia R&D Center and a new label factory yesterday in Changshu, close to the economic and financial hub of Shanghai.
"Research and product development as well as high value-added products like labels are important parts of UPM's strategy for growth in the world's most important markets," said Jussi Pesonen, UPM's president and CEO.
He added that the R&D center and new plant would serve as a significant platform for the company's future growth in China. The projects involved an investment of over $50 million.
UPM's new Raflatac plant is designed to meet fast-growing demand for labels widely used in the packaging industry in China and the Asia-Pacific region by supplying paper and film label materials for standard and special applications.
Meanwhile, the main focus of its R&D Center is research into papermaking fibers available locally and technologies to process them commercially.
The Helsinki-based company also has a fine paper mill in Changshu that produces 800,000 tons of printing and writing paper in China every year, less than the largest papermaker APP China and its two domestic rivals Shandong Chenming and Shandong Huatai.
To minimize its impact on the local environment, the company said it had spent a total of $35 million on environmental protection facilities in China.China Daily
