New UPM factory and terminal announced for the US Midwest

UPM Raflatac is forging ahead with plans to build a new pressure sensitive labelstock factory in Dixon, Illinois, 105 miles west of Chicago. The $109 million investment is a consistent step in UPM’s strategy to strengthen UPM Raflatac’s global position in the fast-growing labelstock business. The new factory will focus on serving label converters in the US Midwest marketplace and feature UPM Raflatac’s latest coating and finishing
solutions. Construction is scheduled to start immediately, with completion due in the first quarter of 2008.

In the third quarter of 2006, UPM Raflatac is also opening a new terminal to provide slitting and distribution services from Rochelle, Illinois. The company’s other US terminals are located in Ontario, California and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Major accomplishments last year included the start-up of an additional coating machine at UPM Raflatac’s labelstock facility in Fletcher, North Carolina, and, also in Fletcher, the construction of a new state-of-the-art RFID facility for the production of HF and UHF inlays.

UPM Raflatac is also rolling ahead on other continents. In Europe the company is doubling its production capacity for film labelstock, while in China a greenfield factory is being built in Changshu, 100 km west of Shanghai.

‘UPM Raflatac aims to be the number one choice of label converters,’ said Heikki Pikkarainen, president of UPM Raflatac. ‘We are doing a lot of work to this end by developing our production technology, adhesives and other raw materials as well as our logistic solutions. Also, and as an industry leader in the RFID business, we are supplying HF and UHF tags and inlays from our two factories in the US and Finland. Our mission is to continuously develop our product offerings and service concepts and provide substantial benefits to our customers.’

With a new state-of-the-art coating machine in Fletcher, UPM Raflatac has expanded its US range of locally made film products including polypropylenes and polyethylenes for rigid and semi- and fully squeezable containers. UPM Raflatac is also offering new hot melt and rubber resin dispersion adhesives and a number of additional liner options to boost processing speeds. Special programs include splice-free, trimless and longer rolls, available from several stock locations.

UPM Raflatac is also devoting significant resources to continue the development of RFID tags and inlays for applications in the supply chain and the retail, pharmaceutical, library/media management, transportation and security markets, among others.