UPM completes closure of paper machine 5 in Blandin by end of year

(UPM, Helsinki, 20 December 2017 at 16:00 EET) - On October 24, UPM announced plans to permanently close paper machine 5 at UPM Blandin in Minnesota, United States in response to overcapacities in the North American paper market. All related processes have now been completed, and paper machine 5 will be permanently closed latest on 30 December 2017.

The closure will reduce the annual capacity of coated magazine paper by approximately 128,000 tons. The number of positions affected is 148. Paper production related to paper machine 6 will continue at the Blandin site.

"UPM is committed to the paper business in the long run. This means that we need to continuously adjust our capacity to market developments, to safeguard the economic stability of UPM's paper business. We regret the impact this has on our employees. We have engaged in a fair dialogue with employee representatives in order to mitigate the impact of the closure on the personnel at Blandin," says Ruud van den Berg, Senior Vice President, Magazines, Merchants and Office Business at UPM Paper ENA.

For further information please refer to our previous announcement.

For local information, please contact:
Joe Maher, General Manager, UPM Blandin, tel. +1 218 327 6398

UPM, Media Relations
Mon-Fri 9:00-16:00 EET
tel. +358 40 588 3284
media@upm.com

About UPM Paper ENA
UPM Paper ENA (Europe and North America) is the world's leading producer of graphic papers, offering an extensive product range for advertising and publishing as well as home and office uses. The high performing papers and service concepts of UPM add value to our customers' businesses, while actively fulfilling demanding environmental and social responsibility criteria. With headquarters in Germany, UPM Paper ENA employs approximately 8,000 people. More about UPM Paper ENA and its products at www.upmpaper.com

UPM
UPM leads the forest-based bioindustry into a sustainable, innovation-driven and exciting future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Paper ENA and UPM Plywood. UPM provides sustainable and safe solutions to the growing global consumption. Products are made of renewable and recyclable materials. The group employs around 19,300 people worldwide and its annual sales are approximately EUR 10 billion. UPM shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Helsinki. UPM - The Biofore Company - www.upm.com

Follow UPM on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | upmbiofore.com