News Release

With the aim of strengthening its paper recycling business in India, Japan Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd. has established OVOL Fibre Solution India Private Limited (Head office: Kolkata, India; “OFSI”) in a joint venture with Papyrus Recycling Private Limited (Head office: Kolkata, India; Representative: Priya Saran Chaudhri), with the new company having now commenced operations. This is the first Group company to use the group brand “OVOL” in its company name.

The Indian economy, backed by the world’s second largest population at 1.26 billion people, has been experiencing steady growth, and with this, demand for packaging materials has also been robust. As literacy rates improve, demand for graphic papers, such as newsprint, has also been rising, with the volume of paper and paperboard produced in 2019 predicted to grow to 120% of the 2016 level.
Given this, in 2012, Japan Pulp & Paper bought KCT Trading, a leading paper trading company with facilities located in major cities across India, into the Group and has been strengthening its paper and paperboard sales business throughout the country. On this occasion, we have established OFSI to strengthen our business activities regarding the recycling of wastepaper, an important raw material used in the manufacture of paper. In particular, we will expand our handling of industrial wastepaper from printers and containerboard processing companies.
In India, the ratio of recovered wastepaper used in the manufacturing of paper is approximately 60%. However, with environmental regulations making it difficult to build new pulp manufacturing mills and the fact that the recovery rate of wastepaper in the country is currently only around 30%, India is reliant on imports for most of its wastepaper supply. As a result, even greater importance is now being placed on the recovery and recycling of domestic wastepaper supplies.

In addition to its activities in the Indian wholesale paper market, the establishment of OFSI will enable the Japan Pulp & Paper Group to create a formidable system for the stable supply of wastepaper used as a raw material in the manufacturing of paper. The Japan Pulp & Paper Group will continue to further strengthen and make active use of its paper recycling businesses, and strive to create recycling-oriented societies in India, Japan and throughout the world.