Our story is one of creativity, hard work and dedication
It is a story of thousands of people around the world working together to create new label solutions for brands and businesses, searching out new ways to help them grow. Our story is also the story of one man, a young chemist in Tampere, Finland, who set the stage for UPM Raflatac’s growth by constantly experimenting with label materials. That quality – of challenging the status quo with new approaches – is what has fueled our growth and made us what we are today. In just four decades, we have become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pressure-sensitive labels.
The 1970s - Capturing the vision of a young chemist
What if an alternative to solvent-based adhesives existed?, asked Juhani Strömberg, a chemist at Raf. Haarla company. In the early 1970s, Strömberg began running trials with adhesives to find out whether he could create an alternative to the solvent-based products that were prevalent in the label industry at the time. Strömberg’s work resulted in the development of the water-based permanent adhesive RP51 and other revolutionary innovations that raised the company's profile to visionaries in the label industry. His work sparked our enthusiasm for sustainable production approaches and labeling solutions. As part of UPM, the Biofore company, our commitment to sustainability continues to this day.
1976 - Leveraging our proprietary adhesive technology
In 1976 Raf. Haarla merged with United Paper Mills to form Raflatac. The end of the decade saw Raflatac produce label stock at an industrial scale and export them to Western Europe. Thanks to the resources of a major forest industry company, state-of-the-art adhesive technology and successful business acquisitions, the following decades saw Raflatac grow rapidly into the position it occupies today – one of the leading manufacturers of paper and film laminates.
1996 - When Raflatac became part of UPM
In 1996, Raflatac became part of UPM – one of the world’s leading forest industry companies. UPM leads the forest-based bioindustry into a sustainable, innovation-driven, and exciting future across six business areas. They create renewable and responsible solutions that replace fossil-based materials by making the most of residues and side streams.
Today - Creating labels for the whole world
As UPM Raflatac, we create high-performing, visually compelling label materials that work towards labeling a smarter future beyond fossils through sustainable and innovative products and solutions. A truly global player, we are expanding our geographical scope and investments in new production facilities, growing new, emerging markets such as South America and Asia.
Discover what we're doing today by reading more about us.