Iggesund Paperboard to Open Sales Office in Japan
(Stockholm, Sweden,, July 25, 2016) Iggesund Paperboard recently announced that it is expanding in the Asia Pacific region and will open a sales office in Japan from September 1. Over the past year Iggesund has established a service center with sheeting and warehousing in Taiwan to cut lead times in the region.
“Traditionally Iggesund has focused very much on Europe but we are now prioritizing work to increase our global sales,” said Arvid Sundblad, Vice President Sales and Marketing for Iggesund.
“For more than a decade we have seen the conversion of packaging for consumer goods move from western Europe to other parts of the world, mostly in the east. Brand owners with headquarters in one part of the world can have the manufacturing of both their goods and packaging in another. This is globalization in a nutshell and we must adapt to it,” Sundblad said.
Iggesund noted that the Japanese paper and paperboard market places high demands on quality, and Iggesund’s flagship product, Invercote, will be the cornerstone of the new venture. “The paperboard is well established in the highest quality segments in the more than 100 national markets where it is sold. It is made of virgin fiber and meets exacting standards of purity, so it should do well in Japan,” the company said in a press release.
Ivan Chong, President of Iggesund’s Asia Pacific operations, explained, “When we decided to focus more on global sales, one of the first steps was to develop our delivery service outside Europe. Since then we’ve built up new inventory and sheeting facilities on the U.S. West Coast and in Taiwan. The result is radical reductions in lead times to Asia.”
Iggesund pointed out that it has been represented in both Singapore and Hong Kong for almost two decades now and has been successful in building sales over that period. The improved availability means there are good prospects for the company to reach a wider market not only in Japan but also in the Asia Pacific region generally.
“The improved inventory and service are a game changer for us,” Chong said. “Now we can be competitive in contexts where before we weren’t even an option due to the lead times. We’ve already gained a number of new orders due to our new delivery capacity.
Iggesund noted that Invercote has long been represented by the Japanese paper merchants Takeo, with a focus on the graphics market. This arrangement will continue, Iggesund said. The new sales office will further develop new business opportunities in the premium packaging and graphical segments, where the qualities of Invercote are especially preferred.
Iggesund Paperboard is part of the Swedish forest industry group Holmen.
To learn more, please visit: www.iggesund.com (Source: Iggesund Paperboard)
