(UPM Plywood, Lahti, Finland, 3 September 2013) – UPM’s WISA plywood is not just pieces of wood. In addition to high technical performance and quality, it is a highly sustainable material made with more-with-less philosophy in mind. Creating more with less is UPM’s means for better material and resource efficiency.

UPM’s WISA plywood products are manufactured according to the strictest sustainability principles. Wood raw material comes only from sustainably managed forests. Less water and energy is used and the amount of waste is minimised, thereby giving products more economic and environmental value.

Forests – one of the Earth's most valuable resources – are also the source of raw material for plywood. Therefore it is essential that UPM operates according to the principles of sustainable forest management. This means that the origin of wood is always known and good forest management practices are promoted. All WISA products are available either PEFCTM or FSC® certified.

All UPM’s plywood mills operate in areas where there is no scarcity of water. Even so, efficient use of water resources is the central point of our everyday actions. All effluents are cleaned to the highest standard before the used water is released back to the natural cycle.

UPM aims not only to continuously reduce the carbon footprint of its operations, but also to actively develop new solutions for low carbon footprint and renewable energy sources. Most of the energy used in UPM’s plywood mills is bio energy obtained from the by-products of harvesting and production, such as bark, chips and sawdust. All WISA plywood products have been calculated carbon footprints.

The versatile WISA plywood range will be exhibited at Bauma Africa 2013 September 18-21, 2013 in Johannesburg, South-Africa. At the show, UPM will display its WISA branded special plywood products and solutions for demanding concrete forming, building and construction uses. UPM’s stand is located at Indoor Hall 5, stand 381.

For press appointments at Bauma Africa, please contact:
Ms Olga Andreichik, Industrial News Service, tel. + 358 9 6120 990

Image caption 1: World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 Pavillion featuring WISA-Twin plywood. © UPM Plywood

Notes to editors

UPM Plywood offers high-quality WISA plywood and veneer products mainly for construction and transport industries as well as the thermo-formable UPM Grada wood material for furniture and manufacturing industries. The sales of UPM Plywood in 2012 were EUR 387 million and it has about 2,500 employees. UPM has 6 plywood mills and a veneer mill in Finland and plywood mills in Russia and Estonia. – www.wisaplywood.com

UPM leads the integration of bio and forest industries into a new, sustainable and innovation-driven future. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM consists of three Business Groups: Energy and pulp, Paper, and Engineered materials. The Group employs around 22,000 people. UPM is present in 67 countries and has production units in 17 countries. UPM's annual sales exceed EUR 10 billion. UPM's shares are listed on the Helsinki stock exchange. UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upm.com

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