Stora Enso enhances its product portfolio in Wood Products
Stora Enso is enhancing the product portfolio of its Wood Products Business Area by signing a contract to acquire a 19.46% shareholding in the Finnish wood processor Arktos Group.
The deal will add glue-laminated wood products of a new type to Stora Enso's product portfolio. In addition to developing business operations, Stora Enso continues wood sourcing with Arktos and provides a sales channel for certain Arktos products. The investment also includes an agreement to begin co-operation in, among other things, wood glue-laminate technology and maintenance and spare parts projects. “We strongly believe closer co-operation with Arktos Group will enhance Stora Enso's current product portfolio, and also further increase co-operation between us in wood supply and product development,” says Hannu Kasurinen, EVP, Stora Enso Wood Products. In 2008 Stora Enso sold part of the Kemijärvi Mill real estate to Arktos Group (formerly Anaika Group) to enable it to start an engineering works and high quality gluelam beam operations at the mill site. In full production, Arktos Group's Kemijärvi operations will employ about 100 people directly and provide substantial indirect employment in the region. For further information, please contact: Hannu Kasurinen, EVP, Stora Enso Wood Products, tel. +358 2046 21222 Ulla Paajanen-Sainio, Head of Investor Relations, tel. +358 2046 21242 Päivi Kauhanen, Director, Communications in Finland, tel. +358 2046 21292 www.storaenso.com www.storaenso.com/investors Arktos Group Ltd Oy is a growth company established in 2004 and based in Mikkeli in Finland. It has an engineering works division Arktos Steel and a wood processing division Arktos Wood. With operations in Pori, Mikkeli and Kemijärvi in Finland and just over 100 skilled and motivated employees, Arktos Group also designs and itself constructs production plants. Stora Enso is a global paper, packaging and wood products company producing newsprint and book paper, magazine paper, fine paper, consumer board, industrial packaging and wood products. The Group is the world leader in forest industry sustainability. We offer our customers solutions based on renewable raw materials. Our products provide a climate-friendly alternative to many non-renewable materials, and have a smaller carbon footprint. Stora Enso is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Index. Stora Enso employs some 27 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2009 amounted to EUR 8.9 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.