Metsä Tissue inaugurates mill in Düren, Germany, and launches new baking and cooking papers product

ESPOO, Finland , Sept. 14, 2011 (Globe Newswire) - Metsä Tissue today celebrated the inauguration of its mill in Düren, Germany, marking the beginning of what promises to be an exciting new era for the company's Baking & Cooking Business. Crowning the successful machine start-up was the simultaneous launch of a revolutionary product innovation: SAGA One-up.

Attended by local and regional authorities, customers, employees and representatives of the media, the opening ceremony marked the culmination of an investment programme announced last November. Metsä Tissue has invested a total of EUR 30 million in renewed capacity at the Düren mill, strategic reengineering and the successful integration of the new German organization. Today the mill specializes exclusively in manufacturing SAGA baking and cooking papers.

"This day marks a major leap forward for our Baking and Cooking business. This investment will enable us to strengthen the SAGA brand, gain quality enhancements and maximize our volume growth potential. Now that we are closer to our customers, we can also guarantee better availability and a higher standard of service," says CEO Hannu Kottonen.

"With this dedicated, state-of-the-art facility we will be able to take the SAGA brand to a whole new level. We will work together with end-users to develop innovative new products and categories," adds Raija Mörö, Senior Vice President, B&C Business.

One such innovation is SAGA One-Up, a totally new convenience product category for professional and household use. This invention combines the convenience of the classic pop-up tissue box with SAGA's unique range of high-performance baking and cooking papers. One-Up products will be available in Russian, Polish and Finnish retail stores from 2012 onwards and for professional users from the last quarter of this year onwards via Metsä Tissue's SAGA team.