OREANDA-NEWS. Ilim Group, one of the global leaders in the pulp and paper industry and the leading supplier of pulp and paper products to China, will celebrate 20 years of its continuous presence in China in 2016. Over these years, Ilim Group has supplied a total of 15 million tons of pulp and paper products to this strategic market.

Ilim Group regards China as one of its key markets and supplies the widest range of pulp and paper products as compared to other international suppliers. Ilim Group has more than 55 direct customers and exports softwood and hardwood pulp, and containerboard to over 500 Chinese plants. Ilim’s success in China is largely due to the favorable location of its production facilities, efficient logistics specifically designed to cover the key regions of China, and deep understanding of the Chinese market acquired throughout the years of business activity in the region.

Franz Josef Marx, Chief Executive Officer of OJSC Ilim Group:

‘Ilim Group is one of the industry leaders globally. We produce high quality pulp and paper products in Russia and supply them to the domestic market and different regions of the world, including our strategic market in China. Our achievements over 20 years have been quite remarkable. Not only have we expanded our product range and geographic footprint, but also established ourselves as a reliable, long-standing partner and key international supplier of high quality softwood pulp and containerboard to China. With the first 50,000 tons supplied to China in 1996, Ilim Group set yet another record in 2015 by delivering 1,375,000 tons of its products. We wish to congratulate our distinguished partners on the 20th anniversary of our partnership in the Chinese market and express our commitment to continuously strengthen and grow our business together‘.

In 2016, Ilim Group adopted its Business Plan for 2016-2020 providing for investment of over USD 2 billion to further develop its production facilities in Bratsk, Koryazhma, and Ust-Ilimsk. In the next 5 years, Ilim Group plans to increase its total annual pulp and paper volumes by over 500,000 tons, with most of the incremental softwood and hardwood pulp volumes intended for the Chinese market.