Several appointments have been made at Loparex Group. In the first, Heikki Kotala has been named development director effective Fenruary 2007. He will be located in Lohja and reports to CEO Pentti Kallio. Mr. Kotala, who will continue as member of Loparex Man­agement Group, has been working for Loparex for 10 years in various management positions in the Netherlands, the U.S. and in Finland.

In other Loparaex personnel news, Kari Kalliala was appointed managing director of Loparex Oy (Lohja plant). He will become a member of Loparex Europe Management Group and reports to Pentti Kallio.

“My mission at Loparex is clear: to pilot the Lohja plant toward a brighter future”, Mr. Kalliala said. “In my mind, there is a lot of potential in the Lohja unit. My intention is to continue the good work already started to make this unit profitable again and to get new products to the market.”

In another appointment at Loparex, Ilkka Alanen has been appointed technical director of Loparex Oy. He will be responsible for the Lohja plant’s production, maintenance and quality control laboratory functions. He reports to Kari Kalliala. Mr. Alanen has more than 20 years of experience in the paper industry. Since the late 1980s, he has worked for Stora Enso and was recently in charge of the paper machine and finishing portion of Enso’s publication paper division in China.