Paper, pulp and self-adhesive labelstock giant, UPM Raflatac, has acquired Grafityp, a Belgian-based company to further accelerate its growth in graphics solutions. Merging UPM Raflatac’s existing Graphics business with Grafityp will strengthen UPM Raflatac’s overall competitive positioning in this attractive product segment.
Grafityp’s manufacturing site in Houthalen, Belgium
Grafityp is a well-established company with more than 50 years of history and a pioneer in developing and manufacturing self-adhesive graphics solutions. Today it is known for its strong brands and product portfolio consisting of colour films, print films for large format colour printing, laminates and wrapping films for various end-uses. The company has approximately 100 employees and has a manufacturing site in Houthalen, Belgium and a distribution centre in the UK.
Finland-headquartered UPM Raflatac emloys over 16,000 people worlwide and has annual sales in excess of AUD$14 billion. Grafityp films and self-adhesives are sold through Ricky Richards and Sign Essentials within Australia.
“We are committed to become a full product and service provider in graphics solutions. Merging Grafityp with UPM Graphics business accelerates our growth. Grafityp is a leading, innovative Graphics company with lot of know-how. We look forward to growing together and offering an even stronger product portfolio to our current and new customers,” says Timo Kekki, Senior Vice President, UPM Raflatac Films and Specials. 
Grafityp films have even been used to wrap F-16 fighter jets in Europe
“This acquisition presents significant opportunities to accelerate growth and enhance business value through the expansion of our customer base, production facilities and innovative product offering. The UPM Group shares our commitment to human values and sustainability. The complementary nature of our two organizations is truly remarkable, and we anticipate considerable synergies arising from this partnership. This agreement accelerates our ambitious growth plans. We eagerly anticipate the promising future this collaboration will bring,” says Herman Bosman, Owner of Grafityp. His company was established over 50 years ago.
UPM Graphics is a new strategic self-adhesive business unit within UPM Raflatac. The business was established after acquiring AMC AG and its graphics business in 2022. UPM Raflatac’s strategy is to grow its graphics business through organic and possibly inorganic measures to give it a significant weight in the company’s product portfolio. Typical graphics applications can be found e.g. in indoor and outdoor advertising, signage and vehicle wrapping.
