M-real building new biopower plant at Kyro, Finland, paper mill to offer wallpaper base products with improved eco credentials, will show full Cresta wallpaper base range at Heimtextil 2012 including its duplex, simplex, nonwoven products

Kendall Sinclair

ESPOO, Finland , January 11, 2012 (press release) – Many exciting wallpaper design trends are underway, all requiring a base that offers high performance, strength, flexibility and good environmental credentials. M-real, the world’s leading producer of wallpaper base, is showing its full Cresta range at Heimtextil 2012 with products that support the latest design and decorating trends, and support sustainability.

“We are seeing designs that include textures and embedded highlights or metallic finishes, which require a strong and flexible base,” says Risto Auero, VP Sales, Linerboards and Wallpaper Base. “In contrast, other designs reflect the natural world with trees, leaves and landscapes, requiring an environmentally-responsible base to complement the imagery. We note that the trends for big and bold patterns or the retro look also continue, so accurate print and color reproduction are vital and a high white base shade is also desirable.

M-real’s Cresta range includes duplex and simplex wallpaper base as well as non-woven products, thereby meeting the demands of all printing and converting processes as well as the functionality of paste-the-wall, washable and easily-removable wall coverings. There are bases suitable for expanded vinyl wallcoverings, PVC coating and paper wallcoverings, and specialist products that offer resistance to high temperatures in converting or are suitable for inks containing pearlescent pigments.

M-real’s construction of a new biopower plant at the Kyro mill, where the Cresta range is made, is now underway. The plant will replace the use of fossil natural gas with CO2 neutral wood - predominantly bark, chips, stumps and other discarded wood. The biopower plant will also provide heating for the neighboring district of Hämeenkyrӧ. After the plant’s start-up in autumn 2012, CO2 emissions from the Kyro mill will be reduced by approximately 100,000 metric tons per annum (110,000 tpa), equivalent to the annual emissions of around 60,000 cars.

Risto Auero adds: “As the Kyro mill’s PM3 (paper machine 3) is dedicated completely to wallpaper base production and capable of making 105,000 metric tons (115,000 tons) per year, the new biopower plant will enable our customers to offer wallcoverings that combine top quality and performance with improved environmental credentials.”


M-real in brief:

M-real is Europe’s leading primary fiber paperboard producer and a major paper supplier. The company’s customers include brand owners, carton printers, converters, publishers, printing houses, merchants and office suppliers.

M-real supports its customers’ businesses by providing high-performance paperboards and quality papers for consumer packaging, communications and advertising end-uses. Together with its customers and partners, M-real develops products and services for demanding end- uses. The company’s paperboard is mainly used for the packaging of beautycare and healthcare products, foods, cigarettes, and consumer durables, as well as graphics. Paper is mainly used for office papers, as well as wallcoverings and other speciality end-uses.

M-real’s business areas are Consumer Packaging, Office Papers, Speciality Papers and Market Pulp and Energy. M-real is headquartered in Finland. In 2010, the company’s sales totaled EUR 2.6 (USD 3.3) billion, and it has approximately 4,500 employees. M-real, part of Metsäliitto Group, is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd. www.m-real.com

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