Hansol Paper Co., a South Korean paper producer, this past week reported that its wholly-owned investment unit Hansol Denmark ApS has bought a 97.5% stake in a Danish thermal paper retailer for 41.9 billion won ($38.7 million) "to obtain new growth engines." The stake purchase in the Danish company, Schades Holdings A/S, is aimed at securing its sales channel in the world's biggest European thermal paper market, which takes up 32% of the whole global demand, according to a report by the Yonhap News Agency.
Hansol Paper also said it had already been operating the production line of the highly profitable thermal paper. The thermal paper is a special fine paper coated with a chemical that changes color when exposed to heat. It is used in the thermal printers of adding machines, cash registers, and credit card terminals.
Schades Holdings, which was established in 1874, has its 12 subsidiaries in seven European countries including France, Germany, and Britain. It is a leading company on the European market for documentary paper rolls and self-adhesive labels for specialty applications. With the investment in Schades, Hansol is getting a 25% market share in Europe.
"For a number of years, we have aimed to consolidate our position in Europe like we have already done in North America and Asia. With the acquisition of Schades, we can truly start to expand in the region," said Sanghun Lee, president and CEO of Hansol Paper.
Schades is producing plain and printed paper rolls, self-adhesive labels, and food wrapping products for food retail chains, non-food retailers, office stationery, as well as financial institutions. The company is running production sites in Germany, Denmark, France, and the U.K. and has sales offices in Belgium, Sweden, and Finland. In 2012, Schades had sales of DKK 634 million (EUR 85 million) and had approximately 200 employees.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/