M-real’s R&D mainly focuses on renewing product concepts and improving the efficiency of its production units. By redefining our product concepts, we want to offer our customers an even more versatile product range, improved product availability and shortened delivery times.
Recently, the product concept renewal has given rise to the LITE4U cartonboard concept including the brand new folding board Carta Elega. Our product development areas have included high quality graphic speciality papers, self-copying papers, digital printing papers and security papers.
We mainly implement the efficiency improvement projects in the mills to achieve efficiency benefits as well as direct cost savings, particularly in raw materials and energy. In 2008, for instance, our technology improvements in the bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp process resulted in new technology for process chemicals recovery.
M-real's R&D expenditure for 2010 amounted to approximately EUR 5 million, or some 0.2 per cent of sales. The decrease compared to the previous year is due to the end of the joint KCL research programme. In addition to our own R&D projects, we also participate in research cooperation with Forestcluster Ltd. Forestcluster’s long-term programmes are aimed at creating capabilities for renewing existing business activities.