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The Nippon Paper Group has been engaged overseas in activities such as businesses
related to afforestation, raw material imports, product exports, manufacturing,
and technical tie-ups.
The Group's primary growth strategy calls for
full entry into international markets, centered on our current overseas operations
and making optimal use of the human resources and expertise available. By organizing
bases in North America, Europe, China, and other Asian countries, we will expand
local sales capabilities, promote the Group's products, and cultivate new demand
for our products.
◆North America
Our mill in
Longview, Washington (North Pacific Paper Corporation)
produces more newsprint than any facility on the continent,
and we operate a mill in Port Angeles, Washington (Nippon
Paper Industries USA Co., Ltd.) that manufactures telephone-directory
paper. Our long experience and high-quality products have
earned us the trust of customers. As these two facilities
are located near each other and their products are similar,
we plan to pursue the synergy effects available in areas
such as raw material procurement, technology, and product
lineup. Ultimately, this will improve profitability and
promote business development. We also actively create
new markets, such as by exporting differentiated products
from Japan. |
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Expansion in the International Paper
and Paperboad Markets
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| ●Overseas
production sites |
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*Daishowa-America
Co., Ltd. of the following figure indicates Nippon Paper
Industries USA Co., Ltd.
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◆Europe
Jujo Thermal Oy in Finland has already
become a successful joint venture company that manufactures thermal paper. We
are now investigating further business expansion opportunities in the European
market, focusing on using our advanced technologies to make high-value-added products. |
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◆China and other Asian regions
In these regions that have seen dramatic
growth, the Group is energetically formulating and implementing investments that
provide secure returns while exposing us to little risk.
In particular, we are establishing a containerboard and corrugated
board box business in Shanghai, where paperboard demand is expected to grow substantially.
With many of our Japanese customers now rushing into China, this is a most opportune
time for us to gain a foothold for expanding the paperboard business by establishing
a Chinese base. We currently manufacture liner, a product in growth categories,
at a facility in Pinghu, Zhejiang, only 100 kilometers southwest from Shanghai,
through a partnership with Zhejiang Jingxing Paper Joint Stock Co., Ltd. We have
also invested capital in Everwealth Paper Industries (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a manufacturer
of sheets and boxes of corrugated board located about 25 kilometers southwest
from Shanghai.
Further, we are establishing Zhejiang Jingxing Nippon Paper Co., Ltd.
as a joint venture with Jingxing Paper Group Paper-making Co., Ltd., a core company
of the Zhejiang Jingxing Joint Stock group. This new company will commence production
of corrugating medium by the end of 2004, with an annual production target of
150,000 tons.
In these ways, we will rapidly establish integrated production facilities,
from container board (liner and corrugating medium) to corrugated board business.
Moreover, we will continue to improve our business structure by, for
instance, expanding the function of our Shanghai office to prepare for future
business development in China.
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