Forest Industry Group Holmen selects IFS Applications as corporate solution to streamline and consolidate operations

LULEÅ, Sweden, Dec. 19, 2011 (Business Wire) - The Holmen group consists of five business areas specializing in printing paper, paperboard and sawn timber product manufacturing in addition to forestry and energy production. Following a pre-project launched in May, 2011, Holmen has selected a best-practice template solution from IFS that maximizes the efficiency of the company's purchasing processes and enterprise asset management (EAM).

By implementing IFS Applications throughout the entire group in one central database, Holmen will save both time and money in the form of business process consolidation and enhanced visibility throughout the organization.

"The asset-intensive paper and forest industry represents a long-term strategic focus for us and we have many prominent customers within this segment. By implementing IFS Applications throughout its international operations, Holmen will benefit from our first-hand experience via a proven industry solution," said Glenn Arnesen, CEO, IFS Scandinavia.

About Holmen

Holmen is Europe's fifth largest manufacturer of printing paper, with production capacity of 1 750 000 tonnes per year. With capacity of 530 000 tonnes of solid bleached board and folding boxboard, Holmen is the third largest producer in Europe. The company's production capacity for sawn timber is 860 000 cubic metres a year. The annual volume of wood harvested in company forests is 2.5 million cubic metres. Production of hydro power totals 1.1 TWh. The group's average number of employees during 2010 was 4241 and its operating profit excluding items affecting comparability was SEK 1332 million during 2010.