Press ReleasesNPI Decides to Transfer Some R&D Functions to Fuji, ShizuokaCenter for technological development of paper and paperboard, and center for CNF application development will be established at Fuji Mill

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (President: Fumio Manoshiro; hereinafter, "NPI") announced that it has decided to transfer some of its research and development functions to the premises of company-owned Fuji Mill (Fuji, Shizuoka) in the second half of 2017. With the Research & Development Division based in the Oji area (Kita Ward, Tokyo), NPI has so far centralized its research and development functions for efficient performance. NPI will reorganize its structure to promptly promote technological developments that lead to improvements in the Group's competitiveness.

From the current Research & Development Division, the following functions will be transferred:

(1) Part of the functions of the Research Laboratory
In recent years, paper, including newspaper and printing paper in particular, has seen a continuous structural decline in demand. This has required industry players to focus on faster technological development that also takes into account the construction of an optimal production system.

The Fuji area is convenient for NPI to be able to work in closer coordination with the production side, because, in addition to its Fuji Plant, there are many Group company plants operating in the area and its vicinity. Thus, NPI has decided to transfer some of the functions of the Research Laboratory to the premises of Fuji Mill.

(2) CNF Research Laboratory
This October NPI reorganized the former CNF Business Promotion Office into a new structure, where its functions are now divided into the CNF Research Laboratory, which develops technology related to cellulose nanofiber (CNF), and the New Materials Marketing and Sales Office, which is in charge of marketing activities.

Under these circumstances, technological development for the advanced application of CNF now needs to be done at a facility on a scale closer to an actual machine, which facilitates the identification of issues. Therefore, NPI has decided to transfer its functions to the premises of Fuji Mill, a convenient location that is near the metropolitan areas of the Kanto and Chubu regions and ensures space for expansion.

NPI also believes that the transfer of its CNF research base to Fuji Mill will be more beneficial because Shizuoka Prefecture and Fuji City have established a system for the active promotion of CNF practical applications.

By enhancing its research and development activities, NPI will draw on the diversity of "wood" as a material, and continue to contribute to better living and cultural progress through business development in fields that include paper manufacturing.