Ilim Group Expanding Pulp and Board Sales in Southwestern China

Ilim said supply volumes will be boosted in-part due to the company's new pulp and paper mill (the KLB Mill) in Ust-Ilimsk, which will have th ecapacity to produce 600,000 tons of KLB (kraft linerboard) per year.

March 20, 2023 - Ilim Group announced that it is continuing to increase its deliveries of pulp and board to the southwestern regions of China, which has been its prioritized area.

According to the company, by 2025, the share of Ilim Group's board supplies to the southwest region of China is expected to increase three-fold, from 5% to 16%, which is another 100,000 tons of the finished products.

Based on the 2022 results, Ilim's deliveries to China reached a record-high 1.7 million tons of finished products, including 1.359 million tons of pulp and 360 thousand tons of board.

Ilim Group said it will further its collaboration with Chengdu Peibaobo Paper Co., a large manufacturer of packaging and a service operator in China, to expand its reach.

"We will deepen our cooperation with Chengdu Peibaobo Paper Co., seeking to render customized services to the consumers in the southwest of China, improve logistical itineraries and enhance efficiency under the Belt and Road initiative," said Alexander Lykhin, Ilim Group's Vice President and Head of the representative office of JSC Ilim Group in Asia. "Apart from this, we are now working on deliveries to the Southeast Asia through the China-Laos railway route."

Ilim explained that the supply volumes will be boosted due in-part to the company's new pulp and paper mill (the KLB Mill) in Ust-Ilimsk. The production capacity will amount to 600,000 tons of KLB (kraft linerboard) per year. Start-up of the KLB machine is scheduled for Q2 2023.

Ilim Group, in collaboration with Chengdu Peibaobo Paper, held a conference for existing and potential partners in Kunming, Yunnan province. Over 40 people took part in the event, including buyers and consumers of the board to be used for packaging of agricultural produce, flowers, tobacco products, and beverages.

Yunnan Packaging Association and logistics companies were also among the participants of the event.

Wang Xiaoju, President of Chengdu Peibaobo Paper, commented, "Potential area of cooperation between Chengdu Peibaobo Paper Co. and Ilim Group is to perform centralized purchasing, gain a competitive price, and cut down logistics expenses through joined supply volumes."

Ilim noted that it plans to enter the market of Laos and supply packaging materials to the FMCG market through its cooperative relationship with Chengdu Peibaobo Paper.

Ilim Group, with headquarters in St. Petersburg, Russia, operates three large pulp and paper mills and two modern corrugated box plants. The business assets are located in Koryazhma (Arkhangelsk Oblast), Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk (Irkutsk Oblast), Kommunar (Leningrad Oblast), and Dmitrov (Moscow Oblast).

SOURCE: Ilim Group