Kotka Mills announced that it is currently exploring the possibility of establishing its own sales office in North America. The launch of production in the still growing North American food packaging market is also being explored.
“There is great interest in our products as alternatives to replace plastic also in North America, and by establishing a sales office we are pursuing growth in these huge markets,” said Markku Hämäläinen, CEO of Kotka mills. “By operating close to the markets we can improve our customer service and, when needed, growth is supported by production built or acquired close to the markets. Starting our own production in North America is a vision, and the first steps in exploring it have already been taken.”
Kotka mills pointed out that, overall, the North American food packaging market is huge: the board cup market alone is more than 1,000,000 tonnes per year — quadruple the size of Europe’s.
“Even a few percent shares of the North American market would be a good start for us,” Hämäläinen added.
In July of 2016, Kotka mills started up a new consumer board machine, BM2, at its mill in Kotka, Finland. The machine has the capacity to produce 400,000 tonnes per year of folding boxboard and recyclable barrier board.
Kotka mills, located in Kotka, Finland, is a producer of foodservice board, folding boxboard, and saturating base kraft papers. For further information, www.kotkamills.com.
SOURCE: Kotka mills
