"This joint venture in Longkou supports Ahlstrom's growth strategy and strengthens our presence in Asia. Crepe paper used in the medical and building industries in Asia provides us interesting opportunities for growth in the area," says Jan Lång, Ahlstrom's President & CEO.

The new plant in China is the outcome of a EUR 21.9 million investment, of which EUR 13.1 million contributed by Ahlstrom, and employs approximately 140 people. Located in the Zhu You Guan Industrial Park in Longkou, the plant is conveniently positioned near a large commercial port with excellent connects to China and Asia by road and sea, ensuring easy logistics for both incoming raw materials and shipment of products. The investment was initially announced on October 28, 2010.

The plant is a part of Ahlstrom's Food and Medical Business Area. In addition to Longkou, Ahlstrom has three other manufacturing plants and twelve sales offices in Asia, providing service throughout the region.

Ahlstrom in brief
Ahlstrom is a high performance materials company, partnering with leading businesses around the world to help them stay ahead. Our products are used in a large variety of everyday applications, such as filters, medical gowns and drapes, wallcoverings, flooring, labels and food packaging. We have a leading market position in the businesses in which we operate. Our 5,200 employees serve customers in 28 countries on six continents. In 2011, Ahlstrom's net sales amounted to EUR 1.6 billion. The company's share is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. More information available at www.ahlstrom.com.

Yulong Paper in brief
Longkou Yulong Paper Co. Ltd is a comprehensive pulp and paper making company, privatized from Shandong Longkou General Papermaking Plant, a former state-owned company originally started up in 1977. The company produces various grades of premium book and magazine papers. It operates six paper machines with the capacity of 60,000 tons annually, and has a matching poplar pulp-making system and a heat and power plant. The company has 1,200 employees and is located in Longkou City, Shandong Province, 25 kilometers from the Longkou Port and 90 kilometers from Yantai Airport. Longkou has a large commercial port with excellent connections to China and Asia by road and sea. The company website is at www.yulongpaper.com.