Huhtamaki extends its ongoing restructuring program to Asia and Oceania and addresses growth opportunities in southern China. The company will relocate a rigid packaging facility from Hong Kong to South China. Further, the operations of a rigid packaging facility in Australia will be consolidated to another existing site.

The construction of a new site in South China will commence in early 2006. The Hong Kong unit will be closed towards the end of 2007, resulting in a workforce reduction of approximately 100 persons.

“We have a good market presence in northern China but we need to increase capacity in order to respond to the growing opportunities in southern China,” says Tony Combe, Huhtamaki's Executive Vice President for Asia-Oceania-Africa.

In Australia, Huhtamaki will close the Bayswater (Perth) site by the end of 2005 and relocate its equipment to the Mulgrave (Melbourne) facility. The Bayswater site employs approximately 30 people.

The two site closures form part of Huhtamaki's ongoing restructuring program, which aims at optimizing the group’s global manufacturing footprint, achieving a major improvement in cost efficiency and building a foundation for future growth. The costs associated with the closures are included in the EUR 80 million provision previously announced for the second phase of restructuring.

Huhtamaki Group is a leading manufacturer of consumer and specialty packaging with 70 manufacturing and sales units in 36 countries worldwide. In 2004 the group's net sales amounted to EUR 2.1 billion, and it employs over 15,000 people. The parent company, Huhtamäki Oyj, has its Head Office in Espoo, Finland.

For more information, visit www.huhtamaki.com.