08.01.06
UPM Raflatac has announced its plan to build a new pressure sensitive labelstock factory in Dixon, IL, USA, 105 miles west of Chicago. The new factory will focus on supplying materials to the Midwest marketplace, which has a concentration of label converters. Construction of the plant starts immediately, says the company, and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2008. The value of the investment will be approximately $109 million.
The new factory will offer UPM Raflatac’s full North American product range of paper and film products, says Heikki Pikkarainen, president of the Finland based company. It will feature UPM Raflatac’s latest, proprietary technical solutions, both in the coating and finishing areas.
“With the Dixon investment we will complete our service network in the US market, consisting of our labelstock and RFID tag and inlay factories in Fletcher, NC, and the slitting terminals in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and Ontario, CA,” Pikkarainen says. “Our Fletcher operation has been a great success and we have received an extremely favorable customer reception for our product and service offering in North America. The Dixon factory will enable us to grow further in North America, where the market growth is annually about 5 percent.”
The expansion is another step in parent company UPM’s plan to strengthen UPM Raflatac’s global position in the labelstock business. Last year Raflatac started up an RFID tag production facility in Fletcher, where the company also completed a second coating line at its pressure sensitive labelstock factory. In Europe, the company will double its film labelstock production capacity. In China, the construction of a new labelstock production facility in Changshu is on schedule, Pikkarainen reports, and is expected to start up at the beginning of 2007.
The new factory will offer UPM Raflatac’s full North American product range of paper and film products, says Heikki Pikkarainen, president of the Finland based company. It will feature UPM Raflatac’s latest, proprietary technical solutions, both in the coating and finishing areas.
“With the Dixon investment we will complete our service network in the US market, consisting of our labelstock and RFID tag and inlay factories in Fletcher, NC, and the slitting terminals in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and Ontario, CA,” Pikkarainen says. “Our Fletcher operation has been a great success and we have received an extremely favorable customer reception for our product and service offering in North America. The Dixon factory will enable us to grow further in North America, where the market growth is annually about 5 percent.”
The expansion is another step in parent company UPM’s plan to strengthen UPM Raflatac’s global position in the labelstock business. Last year Raflatac started up an RFID tag production facility in Fletcher, where the company also completed a second coating line at its pressure sensitive labelstock factory. In Europe, the company will double its film labelstock production capacity. In China, the construction of a new labelstock production facility in Changshu is on schedule, Pikkarainen reports, and is expected to start up at the beginning of 2007.