Ahlstrom - Company Announcement

Ahlstrom to close Bellingham, USA plant

Ahlstrom, a leader in high-performance fiber based materials,
announced today that it will close its Bellingham, MA, USA plant
during the first half of 2008 and consolidate some of the assets to
its Darlington, SC, USA facility.

This move is mainly driven by the need to be more cost competitive,
and it will also allow Ahlstrom to locate its dust filtration
business closer to many of its customers. Ahlstrom previously
announced the addition of a new needlepunch line for the Darlington
site with start-up scheduled by the end of June 2008.

The relocation will affect approximately 80 jobs in Bellingham and
the transition will take up to one year to complete. Ahlstrom
estimates that the cost related to the closure and the consolidation
of assets will be approximately EUR 2 million."The consolidation allows us to improve our competitiveness by moving
our most efficient lines to our Darlington facility. Furthermore, the
move will create some 50-60 positions at our Darlington, South
Carolina facility, " commented Scott Murdock, VP GM Filtration North
America. "The move will begin early in 2008 and should be completed
by July.  During the transition period, service to Ahlstrom's
customers will not be disrupted."

Ahlstrom's Filtration business is a leading global manufacturer of
filtration materials used in air, liquid and transportation
applications with 13 production sites across four continents.


Contact:
Scott Murdock, VP Filtration North America, +1 860 654 8362,
scott.murdock@ahlstrom.com

Trade press contact:
Jerome Barrillon, Director Marketing, +1 860 654 8607,
jerome.barrillon@ahlstrom.com

Distribution:
Helsinki Stock Exchange
Main media
www.ahlstrom.com


Ahlstrom in brief:
Ahlstrom is a global leader in the development, manufacture and
marketing of high performance fiber-based materials. Nonwovens and
specialty papers, made by Ahlstrom, are used in a large variety of
everyday products, such as filters, wipes, flooring, labels, and
tapes. Based upon its unique fiber expertise and innovative approach,
the company has a strong market position in several business areas in
which it operates. Ahlstrom's 6,200 employees serve customers via
sales offices and production facilities in more than 20 countries on
six continents. In 2006, Ahlstrom's net sales amounted to EUR 1.6
billion. Ahlstrom's share is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
The company website is www.ahlstrom.com.