UPM has acquired the entire share capital of Russian wood products company ZAO Chudovo-RWS.
The €12m purchase of the remaining 40% shareholding in ZAO Chudovo-RWS from UPM’s Russian partner Novgorodlesprom was made possible by the sale of 738,000 UPM shares.
ZAO Chudovo-RWS produces plywood and veneers, as well as operating sawmilling subsidiary ZAO Pestovo Novo.
The Chudovo mills’ annual production is 75,000m3 of plywood and 10 million m2 of birch veneer, exported mainly to Central European markets. The Pestovo sawmill’s output is 300,000m3 of sawn whitewood, exported to the European and Asian building industries.
ZAO Chudovo-RWS was one of the first Finno-Russian joint companies in the Soviet era, being established in 1988 by Novgorodlesprom and Finnish companies Raute and Schauman. UPM acquired Raute’s shares in the company in 2002.
