Jaakko Pöyry Group acquires the business of a Canadian forest industry engineering company

The Jaakko Pöyry Group acquires the business of Ajami, Bedard, Gagnon, Sexton Inc. (ABGS), a Canadian forest industry engineering company. ABGS is located in Montreal, Québec, Canada, and it employs about 100 forest industry experts. The net sales of ABGS were EUR 14 million in 2001, and its business operations have been profitable. ABGS's business will be transferred to Jaakko Pöyry ABGS Inc., a company 100 per cent owned by the Jaakko Pöyry Group. The transaction is expected to be closed shortly and will be effective as of June 30, 2002. The accounts of ABGS will be consolidated into the Jaakko Pöyry Group as of July 1, 2002.

Founded in 1994, ABGS is a full-service design engineering company serving the forest products industry. The company offers EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management) services. It is one of the biggest offices in its field in eastern Canada where it has a substantial market share. The major clients of ABGS are Tembec, Bowater, Irving, Domtar and Abitibi.

Cooperation between the Jaakko Pöyry Group's Forest Industry business group and ABGS starts immediately with an engineering project for Papier Gaspesia Inc. This company is owned by Fonds des Travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), Rexfor, and the acting operator for the project, Tembec Inc. The project includes a new TMP department and rebuild of the paper machine in the LWC paper mill. The services include process, mechanical, electrical and automation engineering. The services will be performed by ABGS and various Jaakko Pöyry Group companies, and the project will also improve the workload of Marathon Engineers/Architects/Planners LLC, USA. The mill is scheduled to start up in July 2004. The total value of the assignment amounts to EUR 11 million, and it will be recorded in the order stock of the Forest Industry business group as of July 1, 2002.

Along with this acquisition and assignment, the Jaakko Pöyry Group becomes one of the leading forest industry experts in North America. This gives the Group potential to grow also in the future because the European pulp and paper companies are expanding their operations in Canada and the USA. Montreal is the centre of the pulp and paper industry in eastern Canada, and most of these companies have their head office there. The paper and board industry in Canada produces some 22 million tons annually, of which about 9 million tons in Québec.

The strategic long-term target of the Jaakko Pöyry Group has been to expand its operations in the North American pulp and paper industry engineering market. By combining the resources of the Forest Industry business group with the local knowledge, client contacts and market position of ABGS, the Jaakko Pöyry Group has a possibility to enhance its business in the forest industry market in North America. The Montreal office of the Forest Industry Consulting business group will move into the same premises with ABGS. After the acquisition, the Group employs about 200 forest industry engineering and consulting experts in North America. The locations are New York, Atlanta, Montreal and Appleton (WI). The Jaakko Pöyry Group's target is to further develop the local office network in North America.

The Forest Industry business group, operating under the brand name Jaakko Pöyry, had net sales of EUR 150 million in 2001. Jaakko Pöyry has offices in 15 countries and employs some 1900 experts worldwide.

JAAKKO PÖYRY GROUP OYJ

Erkki Pehu-Lehtonen
President and CEO

Teuvo Salminen
Executive Vice President