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◎ Domestic Production and
Sales Structure
 As
a core company of the Nippon Paper Group, we are engaged in
a paper business, which covers newsprint, printing and writing
paper, business communication paper and industrial paper.
We have 13 mills in Japan, each mill taking full advantage
of both its unique characteristics and its location, to achieve optimal production.
Four of our divisions are responsible for all sales activities: the Marketing
and Sales Management Division, the Newsprint Sales Division, the Paper Sales Division,
and the Communication and Industrial Paper Sales Division. Apart from our head
office, sales operations take place at five of our branches in, Hokkaido, Tohoku,
Chubu, Kansai and Kyushu, as well as our Hiroshima Office.
We are striving to
achieve closer ties with our customers so that we can more swiftly respond to
their needs. We also seek to offer reliable services by suggesting new products.
By enhancing collaboration between our mills and our sales force, we aim to establish
a system that ensures: comprehensive quality control, stable supply, and efficient
and competitive sales activities. As a part of this initiative, we have assigned
SEs (Service Engineers) to every branch office of our operations, as well as
those in the Tokyo district, in order to respond more swiftly to customer requests.
Not only do we provide high-quality, high value-added products and services,
we aim to win the trust of our customers and contribute to society by responding
to societal demands such as environmental protection. |
◎ Overseas
Business Operations
 Outside
Japan, we operate across a broad spectrum of fields, ranging from raw material
procurement to product manufacturing, both independently and in the form of
joint ventures with overseas businesses. Specifically, our overseas operations
include: the production of paper and paperboards, afforestation, technical
partnerships, the import of raw materials, and the export of a wide range of
paper products. Our products manufactured within Japan are of the best quality;
they are held in high regard around the world, and are exported overseas, primarily
to Southeast Asia and North America.
In North America, we are expanding our mill operations which produce newsprint
and paper for telephone directories. North Pacific Paper Corporation (NORPAC)
which was established in Washington State as a joint-venture with Weyerhaeuser,
the largest US forestry company, is one of the largest paper mills in North America
and exports approximately 40% of its products to Japan. The Port Angeles mill
which is operated by Nippon
Paper Industries USA Co., Ltd., is dedicated to making
paper for telephone directories for the North American market.
In Europe, Jujo
Thermal Oy which is based in Finland is now producing thermal
paper. In addition, we have established a European office in the Netherlands
in 2005, as we continue efforts to expand our European business, primarily
in the area of business communication paper. |
 In China, a country currently experiencing remarkable economic growth, we established Shouguang
Liben Paper Making Co., Ltd., in 1995, to start the production of carbonless
copying paper. In addition, we have been operating a paperboard business jointly
with Zhejiang Jingxing Paper Group since 2001, and we have been manufacturing
and processing corrugated carton board jointly with Everwealth
Paper Industries (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., since 2003. We also established a wholly-owned company Nippon
Paper Industries Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., in 2004 and have commenced sales
of western paper.
In raw material procurement, we are promoting the afforestation of high-quality
types of trees suited to paper production in Australia, Chile and South
Africa under the Tree Farm Initiative. We are manufacturing chips and pulp,
which constitute the raw materials of paper, in countries rich in natural
resources and which have a focus on afforestation, such as Canada, Australia,
Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand, and the like.
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◎ Newsprint
- High performance and reputation based
on stable supply, stable quality and advanced utilization of wastepaper -
 In
the newsprint business, we have eight production bases, seven of which are located
in Japan with the other located in the United States, and we have gained a reputation
based on stable supply, stable quality and advanced utilization of wastepaper,
giving us a domestic market share of approximately 40%. We have established advanced
recycling technology to recycle raw materials into the materials for paper, and
have achieved a high DIP mixing ratio of over 75%. We aim to produce high-quality
newsprint to respond to the increasing trend in color newspaper printing, and
are promoting the neutralization of paper which has low levels of print through.
In the future, we shall be providing newsprint to respond to the demands of the
new era. |
◎ Printing
and Writing Paper
- Focusing on developing new technologies
and products to satisfy demand for more advanced solutions -
In the field of printing and writing paper, we deal with a broad array of products
including: wood-free paper, coated paper, lightweight-coated paper, and mechanical
paper.
We have attained a weight reduction of more than 20% compared with traditional
products using low-density
technology which we pioneered, without any drop in
quality. Several new low-density products, such as the Pegasus series and the
U-ltimax series, are well received. In July 2005, we put Opera Cream Max, which
boasts the lowest density in woodfree book paper, onto the market.
In addition, we are committed to the development of a coating
technology that
will bolster the overall printing effect, satisfying the demand for more advanced
solutions. For example, Aurora Coat is a highly versatile coated paper product
featuring high brightness, high opacity and high-gloss, all without sacrificing
its low density and its toughness.
Our wood-free colored paper is also renowned for its wide product variety, stable
quality and its utilization of wastepaper.
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◎ Business
Communication Paper
- The best lineup in the industry and a
broad range of eco-friendly products -
 In
the category of business communication paper, we produce a large number of products
that employ progressive technologies. We deal with carbonless copying paper, business
form paper, PPC paper for printers and photocopiers, thermal
paper for fax machines and cash registers and paper
for ink-jet printers that produce photo-quality images.
We also develop and
sell other paper solutions for many different purposes. For example; “Postino”
a paper for folding confidential postcards, that reflects the demands of the
market for technologically advanced paper, and “OPER®”,
a synthetic paper that so excels in water resistance and color reproduction that
it is used for posters and calendars. |
◎ Industrial
Paper and Film Products
- Produced from paper, wrapped with paper -
 In the
industrial paper sector, we make and sell material paper for a diverse range of
goods that are used in our daily lives, such as envelopes, carrier bags and paper
cups.
At Nippon Paper Industries we continuously discuss issues such as quality
and supply with our clients, so that we can consistently supply paper suited to
their diversified needs and unique conditions, and also deliver the most appropriate
products swiftly.
Evolving from paper processing, our ‘industrial processed
paper and film products business’ covers materials for drafting, copying,
and platemaking, as well as unique functional films, produced with advanced film
processing technologies and used mainly for electronic displays. |
◎ Research
and Development
- An R&D structure that effectively
deploys our general capabilities in harmony with the environment -
Our Research and Development Division
has concentrated its research functions in one location, Kita-ku, Tokyo, in order
to ensure the effective operation of comprehensive R&D that encompasses everything
from raw materials to finished products. All R&D activities for paper and
pulp are conducted here.
We have three research institutions: the Forestry Science Laboratory which covers
plantation technologies and biotechnology, the Research Laboratory which covers
fundamental pulp and paper technologies, and the Product Laboratory which develops
new products that meet the ever changing demands of the times.
Also operating within the Research and Development Division are the Intellectual
Property Department, which maintains and controls our intellectual assets resulting
from our R&D activities, and the R&D Planning and Administration Department,
which streamlines theses activities.
The Research and Development Division is responsible for organizing and focusing
our overall R&D activities.
Promoting environmental activities, the Research and Development Division became
the first R&D section in the pulp and paper industry to obtain ISO 14001 certification.
In its R&D activities, it observes the following basic principle: “Regarding
harmony with the natural environment as the top priority in all business activities,
each of our members shall be committed to activities aimed at conserving the environment
and at creating a sustainable society, advancing the research and development
of environmentally-friendly products and processes.” |
◎ Environment
- Ensuring that resources for paper-making
are permanently available through sustainable management and production activities
that are sensitive to the environment -
Nippon Paper Industries aims to execute the management of company-owned forest
in harmony with the natural environment under the Action Guidelines for the Creation
and Conservation of Forest Resources in our Charter on the Environmental Charter.
We have our sights set on acquiring forest certification for all of the Company-owned
forests inside Japan, which total 90,000 hectares, and also outside of Japan,
before 2008. Continuing with forest certification already in Company-owned forests
in Kitayama (Shizuoka prefecture) and in the Kyushu area, we shall also be acquiring
a Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council (SGEC) forest certification for the whole
of the Company-owned forest in Hokkaido (approximately 44,000 hectares) in 2005.
We are moving forward with overseas afforestation projects, entitled the Tree
Farm Initiative. The Tree Farm Initiative project achieves sustainable forest
management. It consists of planting trees, and subsequently harvesting the
annual growth only, for use in production, much like the way that field crops
are grown and harvested. Taking the global environment into consideration,
we are developing afforestation projects to cultivate our own sustainable hardwood
chip resources through joint ventures in Australia, Chile and South America.
Moreover, all our mills and our R&D division have acquired ISO14001 certification,
which is an international standard for environmental management systems. They
are committed to reducing the environmental impact in all processes ranging
from R&D to production.
We have set our sights on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15% of actual
emissions in fiscal year 1990, before 2010. As a part of this initiative, we
are promoting the use of the Biomass Boiler which utilizes paper sludge, waste
material and RPF (refuse paper and plastic fuel), in place of fossil fuels.
In addition, we have recently undertaken an entirely new energy saving initiative,
the first attempt of its kind in the Japanese paper milling industry. It features
the extraction of methane gas through anaerobic treatment of effluent from
the manufacturing process of kraft pulp.
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