Premium Beauty News - What was the outcome of the year 2008 for your company? What was the impact of the crisis on your business?

Peter Karell - We had a good year in turnover including the 3rd quarter, but the effects of the global financial crisis were visible in the last quarter and affected the whole year. The high expectations turned out into a very moderate increase in turnover.

Premium Beauty News - What is your vision for the first next 6 months of 2009?

Peter Karell - Crystal balls are covered with dust at the moment, making any predictions very difficult. It is clear that the demand is weaker. Currently the biggest change in the market is that everything is required very urgently in the supply chain. Converters do not know when they will receive the next order and when it comes, as everything is very urgent, you must be able to get the raw material in very short delays. The demand for our Express Board service has increased. Nobody wants to carry any stocks and cash-flow is the key word for all. I expect this situation to continue throughout the year.

Premium Beauty News - How does your company intend to overcome the recession?

Peter Karell - We have already started a cost saving program, which includes stopping the operation of inefficient machines. We also increased our prices last year. It is essential that we keep them at the current levels since we have not yet been able to cover entirely the inflation from earlier years. As a responsible producer we are also cutting capacity where the demand is low. The programme was started last year and it is unavoidable to carry on with it. At the same time we have rationalized our ranges, reducing the number of products thus being able to improve the service.

Premium Beauty News - So, what about innovation?

Peter Karell - We are in the top league of producers and we intend to stay at this level. We have invested a lot in developing BCTMP as a raw material for GC boards. We can offer whiter boards with good stiffness properties at a lighter weight. This means improved economy throughout the supply chain.

Premium Beauty News - Environment and sustainable development are new buzzwords in the industry. How do you address this challenge?

Peter Karell - Environmental criteria are becoming more and more important, in particular concerning packaging waste reduction. With our light weighting concept we can help brand owners and converters to meet future requirements regarding packaging reduction. The carton must still protect the product.

Forest certification is also an important issue regarding the raw material and we are working hard to constantly improve the emissions.