Lign Multiwood and the European Leader Finnforest sign cooperation agreement

Lign Multiwood and the European Leader Finnforest sign cooperation agreement The Swedish company Lign Multiwood, based in Dalarna, and Finnforest Corporation in Finland have signed a cooperation agreement covering the joint development of wood products. The agreement gives Finnforest access to Lign Multiwood's unique Calignum technique, while, among other things, Lign Multiwood has a possibility to market its products through Finnforest's extensive distribution and customer network within Europe. "Above all, the agreement represents a breakthrough for the Calignum technique," says Karl-Axel Barkentin, Marketing Manager for Lign Multiwood. "Of course, that Europe's leading company within the wood product industry chose to work with us is a big recognition of our R&D activities." The cooperation agreement covers a short-term and a long-term programme that identify, which products the companies will jointly develop and bring to market. Last week the project team that will lead the development work met for the first time. The companies will meet their own costs during the development phase. The commercialisation phase is not covered in the agreement, but the main goal in the future is to commercialise the new product concept utilising Finnforest brand. "This cooperation agreement enables us to share in Lign Multiwood's solid experience in isostatically compressed wood," says Markko Ihamuotila, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing of Finnforest's Engineered Wood Division. "Our objectives with the agreement are to improve the properties of wood to suit new application areas and to broaden our product range. Despite our size, we do not have extensive in-house resources to drive the type of R&D that Lign Multiwood carries out. Instead, we have decided to cooperate with smaller companies that offer innovative solutions." Finnforest, with a turnover of about 1.2 billion euro, is a part of the Metsäliitto Group, which has many companies in Europe and a turnover of about 7.5 billion euro. Finnforest's ambition is to be the leading European company in wood based solutions for building and construction by 2005. Through Finnforest, Lign Multiwood has a possibility to market its products through a covering distribution network and an effective logistics system. Lign Multiwood is a high technology company with a revolutionary and patented engineered wood technique called Calignum. The Calignum process produces wood with superior properties with regard to hardness, wear resistance and fine appearance. Lign Multiwood is preparing a commercial launch for the Calignum process during autumn, 2001. For further information please contact: · Curt Lindhe, MD Lign Multiwood, tel: 46 240 65 01 20 or mobile: 0708-845 606 · Karl-Axel Barkentin, Marketing Manager Lign Multiwood, tel: +46 42 34 92 30 or mobile: +46 70 417 24 90 · Markko Ihamuotila, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, Finnforest Engineered Wood Division, tel: +358 1046 94 681 or mobile +358 50 598 7014 · Lign Multiwood's business idea is to use its patented CaLignum process to develop, produce and sell isostatically compressed wood for construction and furnishings, and thereby to offer customers and consumers products of superior quality, attractiveness and cost efficiency. CaLignum® was invented in 1993 by Lennart Castwall and Curt Lindhe. The Lign Multiwood head office is located at Söderbärke in the Dalarna region of Sweden. The company currently has 16 employees. Postal address Telephone +46 240 65 01 20 Lign Multiwood AB Telefax +46 240 65 02 40 Sörängsvägen 10 E-mail/Website info@lignmultiwood.com/ SE-777 60 SÖDERBÄRKE www.lignmultiwood.com Sweden Org. No. 556527-0658 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/05/17/20010517BIT00200/bit0002.DOC http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/05/17/20010517BIT00200/bit0002.pdf