UPM Kymmene Oyj : Plywood starts using a new sustainable WISA BioBond gluing technology

(UPM Plywood, Lahti, Finland, 2 October 2017 at 13:00 EET) - UPM Plywood starts using a new sustainable lignin based WISA BioBond gluing technology in plywood manufacturing. In the new technology 50% of the fossil-based phenol has been replaced with lignin obtained as a by product of kraf pulp production.

'Our long term goal has been to develop a gluing technology that utilizes lignin as raw material. The technological breakthrough that now has been achieved is the most significant innovation in plywood gluing in five decades' says Susanna Rinne, Vice President, Business Development at UPM Plywood.

UPM Plywood plans to take the new gluing technology into use gradually in all of its plywood mills.

Technical properties of the plywood manufactured using the new gluing technology match those of the traditional method. Therefore, WISA BioBond products replace old products directly. The change of the gluing technology has no practical effect on end-users, nor does it reguire any actions from their side. Customers will be able to utilise the sustainability of the new WISA BioBond in their own business gradually as the implementation of the technology progresses.

'Sustainable and effective use of raw-materials is one of the corner stones of UPM's Biofore strategy. WISA BioBond is a prime example of this strategy in practice. Through cross-business co-operation we have developed a gluing technology that makes our WISA plywood products the most sustainbe ones on the market' says Mika Sillanpää, Executive Vice President of UPM Plywood.

Ability to use ligning obtained as a by-product of kraft pulp production in gluing wood has been studied for a long time. WISA BioBond is based on patented UPM BioPiva lignin technology developed by UPM Biochemicals. UPM Plywood is now bringing the first patent pending plywood products utilising the technology to the market.

More information about WISA BioBond technology is available at www.wisabiobond.com.

For further information please contact:
Susanna Rinne,Vice President, Business Development, UPM Plywood, tel. +358 40 574 1270
Juuso Konttinen, Vice President, UPM Biochemicals, tel. +358 40 531 7405

UPM Plywood, Stakeholder Relations
Mon-Fri 9.00-16.00 EET
tel. +358 204 151 13
communications.ply@upm.com

UPM Plywood manufactures high-quality WISA plywood and veneer products mainly for construction and transport industries and the new thermo-formable UPM Grada wood material for the form pressing industry. The sales of UPM Plywood in 2016 were EUR 444 million and it has about 2,400 employees. UPM Plywood has six plywood mills and a veneer mill in Finland, and plywood mills in Russia and Estonia - www.wisaplywood.com, www.upmgrada.com

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UPM Biochemicals offers sustainable and competitive wood-based biochemicals for a variety of industrial uses, without compromising product performance. The principal raw material of our products is certified wood originating from sustainably managed forests. We develop new bio-based materials for the biomedical and other sectors. We aim to expedite the development of new solutions through our collaboration with a number of different partners - www.upmbiochemicals.com

UPM
Through the renewing of the bio and forest industries, UPM is building a sustainable future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Specialty Papers, UPM Paper ENA and UPM Plywood. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. We serve customers worldwide. The group employs around 19,300 people and its annual sales are approximately EUR 10 billion. UPM shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. UPM - The Biofore Company - www.upm.com

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