New Umbrella Group Aligns Manistique Papers, FutureMark Paper

FutureMark Paper Group (FMPG), Westport, Conn., USA, was launched this past week as the umbrella group for two recycled paper producers previously operating as Manistique Papers, Manistique, Mich., and FutureMark Paper Co., Alsip, Ill. FutureMark Paper Group aligns the executive management, business development, marketing, and operational functions of Manistique (uncoated recycled papers) and FutureMark Alsip (coated recycled papers). Industry veteran Steve Silver will serve as FMPG's president and CEO, overseeing both manufacturing facilities.

"In addition to sharing a senior management team and board of advisors, our two recycled mills share a strong history of innovation," Silver notes. "Combining the unique production capabilities of these two mills creates a platform for faster growth and enables us to achieve operational synergies that otherwise wouldn't be possible. We're joining forces at a great time in the market to take advantage of the momentum behind environmental paper."

FMPG says that strategic alignment of the two operations will promote and accelerate:

Process innovation and product development. By cross-pollinating best practices in operations, predictive maintenance, and new technology between the two mills, FMPG will be able to accelerate development of high-quality products and lower the environmental impact of its manufacturing activities.
Sales and marketing integration. Sales and marketing resources are now realigned to better serve the group's green customer base with a unified brand and complementary products.
Transportation optimization. The group is optimizing paper transportation routes between its two manufacturing facilities and their suppliers and customers to speed delivery and decrease its transportation footprint.

While FutureMark Paper Group's Alsip and Manistique facilities will work closely in the marketplace to achieve synergies and bring new value to customers, each operation is financially and legally independent, owned by separate investment funds.

FMPG's 100% recycled uncoated papers, formerly sold under Manistique Papers' product names, will now be sold under the brand Future Mystique™. Book papers will be marketed under the Future Book™ UC brand. Printing papers for the converter market will be bundled under the Future Office™ product family, and recycled packaging and bag papers will be sold as Future Pack™ and Future Bag™, respectively.

Product names for the group's recycled coated publication papers, previously sold by FutureMark Paper Co., will remain unchanged as Future Book™, Future Choice®, and Future Connection®. Future ReMark®, a C1S label paper, will be renamed Future Label™.

TAPPI
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