AssiDomän to close sack plant in Germany

AssiDomän to close sack plant in Germany AssiDomän Herkules in Germany today announced that the company intends to close the sack plant in Nienburg during 1999. All 70 jobs at the plant are affected and discussions with the unions will start immediately. The German sack market has been declining for several years. During 1998 the market dropped 6%. There is also a strong price pressure in the market due to a substantial overcapacity. The proposed closure of the Nienburg plant is part of a restructuring programme aiming at efficiency and profitability improvements within AssiDomän Sacks, which includes AssiDomän Herkules. AssiDomän Herkules consists of the three sack plants in Sendenhorst, Goslar and Nienburg. The turnover is approximately DEM 95 million and the total production amounts to 150 million sacks per year. The number of employees is approximately 350. AssiDomän is one of Europe's leading forest products companies. Production is concentrated on packaging paper, packaging and sawn timber. The Group is Europe's largest listed forest-owning company with 3.3 million hectares of productive forest land. AssiDomän AB Corporate Communications February 5, 1999 For further information: Jan van Bakergem, Managing Director, AssiDomän Herkules Verpackungswerke GmbH, tel. +49 2526 30410 Rolf Schrichten, Deputy Managing Director, AssiDomän Herkules Verpackungswerke GmbH, tel. +49 2526 30426 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/02/05/19990205BIT00410/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/02/05/19990205BIT00410/bit0002.pdf