Norske Skog, CellMark Agree to Publication Paper Sales Cooperation in Asia

Norske Skog, Oslo, Norway, and CellMark AB, Gothenburg, Sweden, have entered into a long-term marketing agreement for sales of publication paper in the Asian markets. The parties will establish a new distributor in Singapore, NorCell Asia, that will have the exclusive marketing rights for all Norske Skog products to be sold in the Asian markets. Norske Skog will transfer its current sales operations and sales staff in Singapore from PanAsia Paper Trading to NorCell Asia.

Norske Skog and CellMark established a similar long term sales cooperation for the North American markets in August 2011. The North American sales operations are operated by NorCell Inc. The parties' experiences from the cooperation in the North American markets have triggered the expansion of the cooperation between the two groups into the Asian markets.

"The common goal of Norske Skog and CellMark in this cooperation is to offer customers a broader range of solutions for their publishing needs while maximizing efficiency and minimizing cost in the supply chain," said Sven Ombudstvedt, CEO of Norske Skog,.

CellMark's CEO, Hans Kling added that "this agreement significantly strengthens CellMark's position in sales of publication grades into Asia and allows us to further develop our well-functioning cooperation with Norske Skog in a new region."

Norske Skog expects to release approximately $15-$20 million in working capital for the cooperation with CellMark in the Asian markets. The new sales and marketing operations by NorCell Asia began operating this month.

TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/