Powerflute Oyj ("Powerflute" or "the Group") which operates paper mills in Kuopio, Finland and Lenningen, Germany today announced the appointment of Dr Michael Spallart, 47, as the Chief Executive of its subsidiary company Papierfabrik Scheufelen GmbH & Co KG ("Scheufelen") with effect from 1 December 2009. Mr Spallart succeeds Kim Jokipii who will continue to be actively involved in the business for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition of management responsibilities before he takes up a position on the Advisory Board of Scheufelen and assumes other responsibilities within the Group.
Michael Spallart spent the last two years as the Managing Director of Alignum GmbH, an Austrian manufacturer of transportation pallets of which he is also a major shareholder.  Prior to this, he spent eight years with the Sappi Group, the world's largest producer of coated fine papers. During this time he held a variety of senior sales, marketing and general management positions in the graphic and packaging divisions. He joined Sappi in 1998 following its acquisition of KNP Leykam where he had been employed since the start of his career in 1988.  

Commenting on the appointment Dermot Smurfit, Powerflute's Chairman said:  "We are very pleased to announce that Michael Spallart will be joining Papierfabrik Scheufelen as its new Chief Executive with effect from 1 December 2009. We are in an exciting period for Scheufelen and we are confident that Michael will bring a wealth of relevant experience and make a significant contribution to the future development of the business. We also thank Kim Jokipii for the significant contribution that he has made since the acquisition of Scheufelen by Powerflute in January 2009 and welcome him to the Advisory Board."  

Commenting on his appointment, Michael Spallart said:  "I am excited to be joining Scheufelen at this stage of its long and illustrious history and I look forward to developing the business further in partnership with our customers, suppliers and people over the coming years. Notwithstanding the current difficult economic conditions, I remain confident about the future prospects of Scheufelen and the markets for the high quality coated papers it produces."