RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- James River Corporation (NYSE: JR)
announced today that it will increase its presence in the Russian market by
opening a tissue converting plant outside of Moscow.  The company has signed a
long-term lease agreement for the site, and it is expected that the converting
lines, which are being relocated from other European plants, will be
operational in the fall of 1997.
    The decision to open a Russian converting plant follows several years of
market development activities.  In 1994, James River began exporting tissue
products to Russia from its Finnish manufacturing facilities, and in 1995, the
company opened a Moscow sales office for the distribution of its Lotus brand
of towel and tissue products.  This next step will not only increase Russian
sales volumes, but will allow James River to reduce transportation costs and
import tariffs and to adapt its products to better match local customer
preferences.
    Parent rolls of tissue, manufactured at James River's facility in Nokia,
Finland, will be sent to the Moscow site for converting into finished
products.  The converting plant will initially include two bathroom tissue and
two napkin converting lines and will employ approximately 30 people.  The
output from this plant, combined with sales of other items sourced directly
from the company's European mills, are expected to generate 10,000 tons per
year of incremental tissue sales in the next three to four years.
    "Today, James River is widely seen as the only systematically operating
tissue marketer in Russia," said John F. Lundgren, president of the company's
European Consumer Products Business.  "This new converting facility creates an
added platform for serving a market with enormous growth potential.  While the
per capita consumption of tissue products by Russia's 150 million people is
currently low, it is expected to expand significantly with the growth of their
economy."
    With current annual European sales of approximately $1.7 billion, James
River is a leading manufacturer of branded and private label tissue and
foodservice products for retail and commercial markets.  James River has an
aggregate European market share of approximately 16%, and many of the
company's products hold leading market positions in their respective
countries.  Overall, James River is the second largest global manufacturer of
towel and tissue products.
    James River Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, Va., is a leading
marketer and manufacturer of consumer products, packaging, and business,
printing and converting papers.  In North America, the company markets
diversified brands such as Quilted Northern bathroom tissue, Brawny paper
towels, Dixie paper cups and plates, Quilt-Rap sandwich wrap, Qwik Wave
microwave packaging, Eureka! recycled copy paper and Word Pro copy paper.  In
addition, the company produces a number of popular European brands such as
Lotus towel and tissue products.  James River's current annual sales rate is
approximately $5.5 billion.
    Today's news release, along with past releases from James River, is
available by fax, at no charge, by calling 800-758-5804, ext. 457350.  You may
access James River's corporate-wide site at Internet address
http://www.jamesrivercorp.com.

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