Investment in Poland

AssiDomän investing Decisions regarding the following investments, totalling MSEK 185, were reached at AssiDomän's Board meeting on Thursday. These investments fully satisfy the required returns of the group and its business unit. So far in 2000, AssiDomän has invested MSEK 1,160 and expects a full-year total of MSEK 1,450, which is slightly less than estimated consolidated depreciation. Poland: A corrugator with the associated new conversion equipment will be installed at AssiDomän Corrugated Polska in Konin, Poland. This machine is expected to become operational by no later than January 2002, with annual 2 capacity of some 100 Mm and a later stage, the conversion element will be further extended. In total, this investment amounts to MSEK 120 over a five-year period. Poland is achieving one of the fastest and most stable growth rates in Eastern Europe. As the Polish economy grows, the demand for packaging using corrugated board is burgeoning, particularly since an increasing number of major multinational consumer goods corporations are starting up in the region. The current sheet plant in Konin was started in January 1999, as the first step in AssiDomän's start-up in Poland. Since then, operations have proceeded very positively in volume and customer terms. At 2 present, conversion is at annual levels of some 27 Mm , now being complemented in this second stage, with a corrguator and additional conversion capacity. Lithuania: A new factory will be constructed for AssiDomän's sheet plant in Vilnius. At present, production is effected at leased premises. This investment will enable future expansion in the high-growth Baltic market. The premises are expected to be complete in autumn 2001, while the investment amounts to MSEK 25. Belgium: A new warehousing construction will be built adjacent to AssiDomän's corrugated board plant in Turnhout, Belgium. This investment amounts to some MSEK 40, with construction scheduled for completion in early 2002. At present, this plant uses a number of warehousing premises, while the new facility has capacity for the plant's entire volumes, implying the rationalisation of logistics and inventory processing and the resulting enhanced service and quality for customers. The Turnhout plant 2 manufactures 150 Mm of corrugated board yearly. AssiDomän AB Corporate Communications 14 December 2000 For more information, please contact: Lars Richardson, President of AssiDomän Corrugated Central & Eastern Europe, tel.: +46 (0)70 620 7440 Hans Lindecrantz, Business Unit Manager AssiDomän Corrugated, tel.: +41 79 320 3905 AssiDomän is a major European forest products corporation, with operations within packaging, packaging paper, sawn timber and wood processing. The group is also a significant forest landowner, with 2.4 million hectares of productive reserves. The employee headcount is some 12,000 in 20 countries. In 1999, sales were SEK 24.5 bn. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/12/14/20001214BIT00900/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/12/14/20001214BIT00900/bit0002.pdf