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Suominen Flexibles intensifies its business recovery program and invests in the automatization of the Tampere plant

Helsinki, Finland, 2013-12-19 13:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Suominen Corporation   Stock Exchange Release 19 December 2013 at 14:00 (EET)

SUOMINEN FLEXIBLES INTENSIFIES ITS BUSINESS RECOVERY PROGRAM AND INVESTS IN THE AUTOMATIZATION OF THE TAMPERE PLANT

Suominen Flexibles intensifies the ongoing business recovery program. The codetermination negotiations initiated in October 2013 due to the planned streamlining measures are now completed. The measures aim to ensure the long term competitiveness and profitability of Suominen Flexibles.

Suominen Joustopakkaukset Oy, located in Tampere, adjusts the structure of its production, sourcing, logistics and sales operations with the revised business strategy; outsources partially its inventories and optimizes its cost structure. In addition, the production and logistics functions of the Tampere plant will be modernized to improve the plants’ productivity and cost structure. Suominen will invest approximately 0.5 million euros in the automatization of the retail carrier bag production. The investment project will be initiated during the first half of 2014.

The sales organization of Suominen Flexibles will be organized to better serve the implementation of the renewed business strategy. Two regional sales offices located in Finland will be closed in phases by the end of summer 2014. In addition, the sales, production and logistics of the Polish plant will be rationalized.

Due to these changes, the number of employees at Suominen Joustopakkaukset Oy will decrease by 26 full-time work years. Six full-time work years will be reduced through the expiration of fixed term contracts and retirements. The lay-offs will be implemented as soon as possible. In the beginning of the negotiations, Suominen estimated that the maximum reduction in full-time work years would be 30.

The order book of Suominen Ikamer Oy, located in Ikaalinen, has grown but due to the optimization of inventories, the company has decided to temporarily adapt the operations of the plant to the current business environment. In Ikaalinen, the entire personnel will be temporarily laid-off for 90 days at maximum. The temporary lay-offs are implemented in shorter periods between November 2013 and May 2014.

Suominen Flexibles is one of the leading flexible packaging suppliers in Northern and Central Europe in all of its business segments: bread packaging, tissue packaging, retail packaging as well as in industrial and security and system packaging. In January-September 2013, the net sales of the Flexibles segment increased from the comparison period by 12% and amounted to EUR 44.1 million, which represented 13% of the Suominen Group net sales. The operating loss of the segment was EUR 1.5 million.

For additional information, please contact:
Nina Kopola, President and CEO, Suominen Corporation, tel. +358 10 214 300

Suominen in brief

Suominen supplies its industrial and retail customers with nonwovens and flexible packaging for use in consumer products worldwide. Suominen is the global market leader in nonwovens for wipes. The company employs more than 1,000 people in Europe and in the United States. Suominen’s net sales in 2012 amounted to MEUR 410.4 and operating profit excluding non-recurring items was MEUR 12.9 (continuing operations). The Suominen share (SUY1V) is listed in NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Stock Exchange. Read more at www.suominen.fi

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