The factory, which is located on the Yangtze River about 100km from Shanghai, was completed in under a year and will serve the fast-growing paper industry in China and the Asia Pacific.

The firm produces barrier-coated and laminated wrappers for the paper, steel and wood products industries, and composite barrier material for the packaging sector.

The main customers are manufacturers of paper, folding boxboard, metal and insulation materials, plus printers and other finishers for the flexible packaging industry.

The company has a global staff of 1,000, with product plants in Finland, Germany, the UK and Sweden.