Per Knuts appointed Executive Vice President, Operations

Management changes in STORA: Per Knuts appointed Executive Vice President, Operations Per Knuts, Executive Vice President of the STORA Group and President of Stora Publication Paper, has been appointed Executive Vice President, Operations within the STORA Group, effective November 1, 1998. The background to the new appointment is the productivity- and efficiencyenhancement program presented to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on March 12 by STORA's new President and Chief Executive Officer, Björn Hägglund. As Executive Vice President, Operations, Per Knuts will lead the new program, which includes cost-efficiency measures and is aimed at achieving a greater productivity return on invested capital. "Per Knuts has solid operating experience within the process, paper and pulp industries and is therefore well acquainted with what is required to rise productivity and better utilize the capital in our production units, both in Sweden and internationally. I am delighted that we can now make use of his expertise throughout the Group, both within the framework of our new program and in the operational work," comments Björn Hägglund. In his new role, Knuts will also devote time to STORA's strategic investments in Skoghall and Canada and to the production investments recently initiated by STORA in emerging markets. As a result of his appointment, Per Knuts will relinquish his position within Stora Publication Paper and will relocate from Düsseldorf to the Group's head office in Falun, Sweden. He will be succeeded in Düsseldorf by Horst Thaler, currently First Executive Vice President of Stora Publication Paper. Per Knuts' new appointment does not affect STORA's organization in any other respects. Aged 59 and a graduate engineer, Knuts has held a number of management positions within STORA since 1986. He became an Executive Vice President of the Group in 1989 and has been President of Stora Feldmühle AG (today Stora Publication Paper) and Chairman of the Executive Board of FPB Holding AG since 1991. For further information, please contact: - Björn Hägglund, telephone +46 (0)10 255 59 20 - Per Knuts, telephone +49 172 260 7264 - Mats Agurén, Senior Vice President, Communications, telephone 070 595 11 22 Note to editors: Photographs of Per Knuts can be ordered from FLT PICA, Håkan Rodén, telephone +46 (0)8-13 55 55, or 13 50 05. Per Knuts Executive Vice President of STORA President of Stora Publication Paper AG Born: 1938 University: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Degree: Master of Chemical Engineering Career: 1963 Royal Institute of Technology; Research Assistant 1963 Liljeholmens Stearinfabriks AB, Stockholm; Group Manager 1966 Unifos Kemi AB, Stenungsund; Project Director, Departmental Manager 1970 Unifos Kemi AB, Stenungsund; Plant Manager 1974 Union Carbide Co., Polythene Division, U.S.A.; Engineering Manager 1976 Union Carbide Co., Polythene Division, U.S.A.; Business Area Manager 1978 Kema Nobel AB, Stockholm; Division President 1982 Unifos Kemi AB, Stenungsund; President 1986 AB Papyrus, Mölndal; Executive Vice President 1987 Stora Cell AB; President 1989 Stora News AB; President 1989 STORA, Falun; Executive Vice President 1991 Chairman of the Executive Boards of Stora Feldmühle AG and FPB Holding AG