Inside and outside Japan, the Oji Group owns equipment, real estate, forest resources, and related technology. We will continue to actively expand projects in the Forest Resources and Environmental Marketing Business, which comprehensively leverage these assets.
Kazuhiko Kamada
President, Forest Resources and Environmental Marketing Company
Business Overview
The Forest Resources and Environmental Marketing Company handles pulp, lumber, and energy businesses, which utilize the Oji Group's forest resources inside and outside Japan.
Pulp Business
For the pulp business, we will enhance sales in Asia and other growth regions, leveraging on the Group's sales channels and our rich lineup of pulp grades from our supply capability of 2.4 million tons/year of market pulp. As for dissolving pulp, development of conventional use in rayon manufacturing as well as specialized uses are in process.
Bleached pulp
Lumber Business
In the lumber business, we are actively expanding the lumber processing and commercial materials business of Oji Forest & Products, Pan Pac, and KTH. We also have a plywood mill in Vietnam (OVPC) and two lumber mills on the South Island of New Zealand(Pan Pac Otago) and Myanmar (MOS Lumber Products) respectively which saw the start of operations in 2015. Going forward, we will continue to expand business focusing on the growing markets of Southeast Asia.
Processed lumber (PanPac/New Zealand)
Energy Business
We are continuing to strengthen our energy business by expanding and fortifying our electricity generation facilities and by entering the electricity retailing business. With regard to biomass power generation, we brought two new boilers online in fiscal 2015 and, in March 2016, established a joint venture biomass power generation company together with Mitsubishi Paper Mills, which is expected to start operation in 2019. As far as hydroelectric power plants, we are continuing work to revamp existing facilities. Additionally, we launched a joint electricity retailing business with Itochu Enex in April 2015.
Biomass power plant (Oji Green Energy Nichinan/Nichinan City, Miyazaki Prefecture)
Raw Materials and Fuel Procurement Business
As emerging economies develop and the prices of various materials continue to rise, we are carrying out unified, Group-wide procurement management and pursuing advantageous procurement.
Business Strategies
Domestic Business Strategy
We are accelerating new business expansion. Specifically, we are selling dissolving pulp and developing specialty uses (refer to Pulp Business), while making progress, under the feed-in-tariff system for renewable energy, with power generation from renewable sources such as biomass, hydropower, and solar power.
Overseas Business
We are expanding our lumber business and pulp business mainly in forest resource-rich countries. In the lumber business, we are working to differentiate ourselves in the market by diversifying our product lineup and developing high value-added products. In the pulp business, we are implementing strategic revenue management measures at major companies in order to construct a business foundation that is resilient to market fluctuations of pulp prices. At Oji Fibre Solutions, which we acquired in 2014, we are actively working towards the early realization of acquisition synergies while also aiming for the stabilization of operations and the implementation of energy-saving measures through introducing and applying the Oji Group’s technical expertise and operation management methods, etc. Additionally, at CENIBRA, we are taking continual measures to upgrade manufacturing facilities to the highest level. We have also been working towards increasing our product lineup. We are continuing to promote business operations as well as sales enhancement of a variety of businesses, including our energy business, via our sales companies located in Asia.