About
Sappi's roots reach back to 1936, when the South African Pulp and Paper Industries was founded near Durban to produce paper from locally grown timber. The company changed its name to Sappi in 1968, expanded into packaging and fine paper in the 1970s, and made its defining international move in the 1990s by acquiring European and North American operations, including the purchase of S.D. Warren in the United States and several European coated-paper mills, which made Sappi one of the world's largest producers of coated fine paper. Since 2015 the group has deliberately pivoted from graphic paper toward higher-growth segments, building a leading global position in dissolving wood pulp, packaging and speciality papers, and biomaterials. Sappi today operates 10 mills across South Africa, Europe and North America, employing around 11,000 people, and is the world's largest producer of dissolving wood pulp, a key raw material for viscose textiles, cellulose-based pharmaceuticals and personal-care products. Its portfolio spans dissolving pulp, packaging papers, specialty papers such as release liners and labels, and graphic paper, with a fast-growing biomaterials division developing lignin-based products and nanocellulose. The company is vertically integrated from its own forestry operations in South Africa through to finished specialty grades, and its Southern African operations generate electricity from biomass and are working toward carbon-neutral production. For B2B buyers, Sappi is a strategic source for high-purity dissolving pulp and specialty papers, particularly for textile manufacturers, pharmaceutical excipient producers, and label and packaging converters. The group's Southern African operations export the majority of their output to Asia, with China and India among the largest destinations, and it runs a global commercial network spanning 50 countries. Sappi maintains long-term supply contracts with major viscose producers and offers technical-grade consistency, FSC certification, and a documented sustainability chain of custody, making it a dependable partner for manufacturers seeking stable, certified wood-based raw materials.
Also known as: Sappi
