Ahlstrom-Munksjö increases parchment paper production capacity and inaugurates a new production line in Saint-Séverin in France

AHLSTROM-MUNKSJÖ OYJ, PRESS RELEASE NOVEMBER 8, 2018 at 14:00

Ahlstrom-Munksjö strengthens its global leading position in parchment products for sustainable everyday applications by inaugurating a new parchmentizer line at the Saint-Séverin plant in France. With the new line the company meets the growing demand for sustainable alternatives for cooking and baking, pan liners, trays and molds.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s genuine vegetable parchment papers are made out of 100% cellulose fibers with no chemical additives. Most of its variants are biodegradable and certified home compostable. Genuine vegetable parchment offers optimal release, greaseproof and heat resistance properties, making them ideal for cooking and baking, food packaging and processing applications in both professional and domestic use. The market for parchment products is estimated to grow by approximately 3-5% annually.

This highly attractive EUR 7 million investment, announced in June 2017, started up successfully in September 2018. Base paper for the parchmentizer line is sourced internally allowing also a more favorable product mix within the Food Packaging business, part of the Specialties business area.

“Ahlstrom-Munksjö is one of the only few players to provide a viable compostable alternative to plastics and aluminum for products like baking trays and molding materials. We are committed to Genuine Vegetable Parchment as we believe sustainable materials are our future”, says Omar Hoek, EVP of the business area Specialties.

The plant’s main products include food and beverage packaging materials and it employs 168 people. In addition to using local resources for the building of the new line, the investment will employ 28 more full time employees, a significant number in a region that has been affected by industrial desertification in the past decade.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Specialties business area produces materials for food and beverage packaging, laboratory filters and life science diagnostics, water filtration, tape products and medical fabrics. It also supplies hot oil cooking and milk filtration materials, graphics paper for sticky notes and envelopes and metallized labels.

For further information, please contact:

 Johan Lindh, Head of Investor Relations, +358 10 888 4994, johan.lindh@ahlstrom-munksjo.com

Ahlstrom-Munksjö in brief
Ahlstrom-Munksjö is a global leader in fiber-based materials, supplying innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers. Our mission is to expand the role of fiber-based solutions for sustainable everyday life. Our offering include filter materials, release liners, food and beverage processing materials, decor papers, abrasive and tape backings, electrotechnical paper, glass fiber materials, medical fiber materials and solutions for diagnostics as well as a range of specialty papers for industrial and consumer end-uses. Our annual net sales are about EUR 3 billion and we employ some 8,000 people. The Ahlstrom-Munksjö share is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki and Stockholm. Read more at www.ahlstrom-munksjo.com.