The Finland-based UPM-Kymmene Corporation (UPM) and the Canada-based Canfor Pulp Products Inc. (Canfor Pulp) have agreed on a strategic sales and marketing cooperation. Beginning 1 January, 2014, UPM’s Pulp Sales network will represent and co-market Canfor Pulp in Europe and China while Canfor Pulp’s sales network will represent and co-market UPM Pulp in North America and Japan. In the initial phase, the cooperation agreement will include six grades of market pulp and approximately one million tonnes of pulp sales from eight mills on three continents.
Both parties consider the agreement to be a significant strategic step. Customers will benefit from a broader product portfolio consisting of Premium Reinforcing Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (PRP NBSK), Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK), Northern Bleached Birch Kraft (NBBK), Bleached Eucalyptus Kraft (BEK), Unbleached Electrical Kraft Pulp (UBE), and Bleached Chemical Thermo Mechanical Pulp (BCTMP).
“We are pleased to enter into this sales and marketing cooperation with Canfor Pulp, a renowned pulp producer in the industry. The cooperation will provide our customers with the most versatile range of Northern Softwood, Birch, Eucalyptus and mechanical pulp available in the global market combined with world-class technical service,” said Tomas Wiklund, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, UPM Pulp Business.
“Canfor Pulp’s grades complement our current softwood and hardwood pulp range very well. The cooperation will also bring us access to new customers in new markets through Canfor’s established sales channels in North America and Japan,” said Wiklund.
“We are very excited to be entering into this direct-to-market sales cooperation with UPM. This agreement will bring two significant and reputable market pulp producers together to offer our customers a broader technical approach and an enhanced product offering for a total fibre solution,” said Sean Curran, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Canfor Pulp Products Inc.
“Since 2009 when UPM started to operate as a market pulp supplier, we have consistently built our sales and customer service network in Europe and China. Today we sell over two million tonnes of our annual pulp production volume of 3.3 million tonnes to external customers mainly in the growing segments of tissue, packaging board and speciality papers in Europe and China,” said UPM’s Tomas Wiklund.
