Kitee Focus for Puhos Board Oy    27.10.06

Puhos Board OY, Finland's leading particle board manufacturer, plans to concentrate production of baseboard and melamine-faced board products at its main manufacturing facility, located in Kitee, from summer 2007.

This will enable product development and manufacture of products for the furniture industry and the melamine-faced market to benefit from the substantial technology investments, made over many years at Kitee.

The plan will result in transferring these elements of current activity from its plant at Keuruu, acquired by Puhos in March this year, and where it will now focus on the development and production of furniture fixings and components.

This consolidation of activity at its more advanced production centre will involve redundancies, mainly at Keuruu, of approximately 65 jobs. Puhos Board management has already begun negotiations with its staff in this respect.

Puhos Board Oy will record a turnover of around EUR 100million for 2006 and currently employs 86 people at Kitee, 91 at Keuruu and 5 in the UK.

Andy Moore, managing director of Puhoswood says:
“In common with most manufacturing industries, making the best use of new technology is essential to provide customers with ”best in class“ products in ever more competitive markets. Finland has an exemplary record for its industrial relations and I'm sure Puhos will do all it can to minimise problems for those people affected by the changes.”

Full details of Puhos activities can be seen at www.puhosboard.com

Further information from:
Chris Wright
WSM Wordsworth Limited
6 Park Steps, St George's Fields
London W2 2YQ
Tel: +44(0)207 262 9180
Fax: +44(0)207 706 8898
Mob: +44(0)7767 660 292
E-mail: cwright@wsmwordsworth.co.uk

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