Nippon Paper Chemicals Co., Ltd. (President: Akira Machihara),
a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries, has entered into an exclusive
agreement with Buckeye Technologies Inc. (CEO: David B. Ferraro, Head Office:
Memphis, Tennessee, USA.), under which Buckeye will market the dissolving pulp
(DP) manufactured by Nippon Paper Chemicals in countries in North and South America,
Europe, Africa, the Middle East and much of Asia.
Buckeye Technologies is a leading manufacturer and marketer of
cotton linter pulp in the world. With its operation facilities in the United States,
Germany, Canada, Ireland and Brazil, it provides pulp for specialty cellulose
and for absorbent products to the global market. This agreement will leverage
Buckeye's worldwide sales network to market the highly refined dissolving pulp
that Nippon Paper Chemicals manufactures.
Nippon Paper Chemicals is a new company wholly owned by the integrated
paper manufacturer, Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., and was inaugurated on
October 1, 2002 when the DP & Chemical Products Division of Nippon Paper Industries
was spun off and reorganized as an independent subsidiary. Nippon Paper Chemicals,
the only manufactures of dissolving pulp in Japan, produces various functional
chemicals using cellulose and lignin which are the main components of wood. In
addition, the company provides diversified industrial fields with respectively
characteristic products such as various highly functional synthetic polymer products,
bio products such as ribonucleic acid, and food additives including sweeteners.
The conclusion of this agreement opens the way for stable and
sustained supply of dissolving pulp not only throughout Japan but also to the
global market, and is thus expected to bolster management stability.
[Dissolving Pulp] Dissolving pulp derives its name from the fact
that it is normally used after it is dissolved with chemicals. It has applications
for fibers such as rayon and cellophane as well as in fields of cellulose derivatives
such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and plastic fillers.
[Cotton Linter Pulp] Cotton linter pulp is made from short fibers
that cover the cottonseed. It serves as a material for acetate, cellulose nitrate,
CMC, high-end writing paper, specialty paper and industrial filters.
|