UPM to start RFID tag production in China

(UPM, Helsinki, February 25, 2008 at 12:00) - UPM will begin RFID tag and inlay production in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province in southern China, in the third quarter of 2008. The new manufacturing site will serve the fast-growing Asian market in all RFID end-use areas, including ticketing and the apparel industry.

In Guangzhou, UPM Raflatac will manufacture both high-frequency (HF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) passive RFID tags and inlays. The initial RFID tag production capacity of the Guangzhou facility will be 100 million pieces per year and it can easily be scaled up to hundreds of millions of pieces according to market growth.

“The new manufacturing site in China will further strengthen our position as the leading RFID tag supplier globally. With production capacity in Europe, North America and Asia, we’re able to serve customers rapidly and secure future growth for UPM Raflatac’s RFID business,” says Mr Christer Härkönen, Senior Vice President of UPM Raflatac’s RFID business area.

UPM Raflatac currently manufactures RFID tags and inlays in Jyväskylä, Finland and in Fletcher, North Carolina in the USA.

For further information please contact:
Mr Heikki Pikkarainen, President, UPM, Label Division, mobile +358 40 760 5758
Mr Christer Härkönen, Senior Vice President, RFID, UPM Raflatac, mobile +358 50 569 3342

About UPM
UPM is one of the world’s leading forest products groups. The Group employs around 26,000 people and in 2007 made sales of EUR 10 billion. UPM’s main products include printing papers, label materials and wood products. The company has production units in 14 countries and its main market areas are Europe and North America. UPM’s shares are listed on the Helsinki stock exchange and the company has an ADR programme on the OTC market in the United States. www.upm-kymmene.com

UPM Raflatac, the Label Division of UPM, is a world-leading supplier of self-adhesive label materials for a wide variety of needs in product and information labelling. In addition, UPM Raflatac is at the global forefront in the development and high-volume production of HF and UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and inlays. UPM Raflatac has around 2,700 employees and made sales of approximately EUR 1 billion (USD 1.4 billion) in 2007. UPM Raflatac has a global service network consisting of 12 factories on five continents and a broad network of distribution and slitting terminals and sales offices worldwide. Further information is available at www.upmraflatac.com.