AssiDomän builds corrugated packaging plant in the Czech Republic

12/11/1996 6:00 AM EST

AssiDomän has decided to invest around SEK 200 million in a new corrugated
packaging plant in the Czech Republic. The plant will be built southwest of
Prague, with production expected to get under way during the summer of 1998.

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The plant's annual production capacity will amount to around 70 million m of
corrugated packaging. The number of employees is estimated to be about 100 in
the first phase.

"AssiDomän's plant in the Czech Republic is a natural step in our campaign to
establish a presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The new plant will be an
important strategic unit in our European network of corrugated packaging
plants," says Lennart Ahlgren, President and CEO of AssiDomän.

The Czech Republic is experiencing rapid economic growth, and the market
growth for corrugated packaging is strong. The country's central location in
Europe, sharing borders with Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia, was
another factor that influenced the decision to set up production in the Czech
Republic. The new plant will also serve the German market, for example.

"There is a great need for better packaging in the Czech Republic today. With
our experience and know-how within the packaging field, we can help to reduce
losses and improve efficiency in the distribution chain," says Ulf Kilander,
President of AssiDomän Packaging.

"The Czech plant will also better equip us to serve our pan-European
customers, i.e. large customers who buy packaging all over Europe," says Lars
Richardson, head of AssiDomän Packaging's operations in Central and Eastern
Europe.

AssiDomän Packaging, which is AssiDomän's corrugated packaging operation, has
previously been represented in Eastern Europe via a plant in Vilnius,
Lithuania. Production at the new corrugated packaging plant in St. Petersburg
will also get under way during the summer of 1997.

With about 50 plants in ten countries, AssiDomän Packaging is one of Europe's
leading manufacturers of corrugated packaging and corrugated case materials.
The company has about 5,800 employees, and reported a turnover of SEK 8.7
billion in 1995.

AssiDomän has been established in the Czech Republic since 1995 through
cooperation with and part-ownership (39%) of Sepap a.s., which manufactures
liner, sack paper and sacks.

AssiDomän AB
Corporate Communications
11 December 1996

For further information, please contact:

Lars Richardson, President of AssiDomän Packaging Central and Eastern Europe.
Tel: +46 8 655 90 00.

AssiDomän is one of Europe's leading forest products companies. Production is
concentrated to packaging paper and packaging, as well as sawn timber.
AssiDomän is also one of the world's largest forest owners. The Group, which
reported a turnover of nearly SEK 22 billion in 1995, has about 13,500
employees and 360,000 shareholders.