New UPM Living products to be showcased at the Habitare exhibition

Archive 8.9.2011 13:30 EEST

(UPM, Helsinki, Finland, 8 September 2011 at 13.30) – The recently launched UPM Living product family introduces a new and fresh approach to the design of wood-based products for interior decoration and construction with its high-quality building materials and exciting home decoration ideas.

UPM Living will launch new products at the Habitare exhibition at the Helsinki Fair Centre in next week.UPM will organise a press conference at the Living Design Lounge on Wednesday 14 September at 11.30am.Sales and Marketing Director Sari Mannonen and Global Marketing Manager Jari Nietosvuori from UPM as well as the members of the Living Design Pool will be there to meet the press.

UPM published its Living Designer Pool at the Flow Festival in Helsinki in August. The pool consists of architects Ville Hara and Anu Puustinen from Avanto Architects, designers Harri Helorinne and JarkkoKallio from design agency Helorinne & Kallio and designer Jaana Karell.UPM is launching a new type of collaboration with the Designer Pool to introduce new products and services for construction seasons on a regular basis.More information about this unique collaboration will be released at the press conference.

You can find UPM Living products at Habitare at the Puuinfo stand 6h69.

UPM GradaTM takes many forms,
from chairs to maternity packages

UPM’s formable UPM Grada plywood will be showcased at Habitare at the Isku stand 7n19.The stand will exhibit the new Grada technology utilised in Isku’s Kaava office chair, which is being launched at the exhibition.UPM Grada is durable, safe and ecological.

The new composite technology is the result of years of research and development. At the core of the formable plywood is a special adhesive film which allows the plywood to be formed after manufacturing.

“The adhesive film developed by UPM creates a unique chemical bond with the wood, enabling the manufacture of bent wooden structures by simply heating, forming and then cooling the plywood. No harmful chemicals are required to form press the plywood. At the end of a product life cycle, the product can be recycled by grinding it into raw material for other composites, for example. The new adhesive bonds not only wood but many other materials. UPM Grada is durable, safe and ecological, and its entire life cycle is carefully considered from start to finish”, says Markku Herrala, Head Of Communications at UPM Plywood.

Formable plywood is well suited for many uses, such as furniture and various industrial applications. “The Tupa project conducted in cooperation with the Aalto University Design Factory utilises UPM Grada in a very interesting way to manufacture a maternity package. The layette box, which is made of UPM Grada plywood, can be used as the baby’s first bed and later as a table and chairs or even as a toy. The product's sustainable life cycle is based on its innovative design”, says Environmental Services Manager Jutta Nuortila-Jokinen.

Jutta Nuortila-Jokinen will discuss life cycle thinking from the industry point of view at the Habitare exhibition on Thursday 15 September 11am–1pm at the Foorum stage of Hall 7.Her presentation is part of the Ekodesign seminar.

Habitare will take place on 14-18 September 2011 at the Helsinki Fair Centre.

For further information please contact:
Ms Sari Mannonen, Sales and Marketing Director, UPM Living, tel. +358 45-2651345
Ms Jutta Nuortila-Jokinen, Environmental Services Manager, Environmental Affairs, UPM, tel.+358 20-4150219
Mr Markku Herrala, Communications Manager, UPM Plywood, tel.+358 40-5862597