The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) announced today that Myllykoski (MILL-UH-KOSS-KEE), a family-owned international paper company headquartered in Europe, has begun bringing rolled paper into the Port of Baltimore as part of a new annual contract. The contract calls for 100,000 tons of rolled paper to be shipped to the Port's North Locust Point Terminal over the next year. The rolled paper is used to produce magazines, annual reports and company brochures.

'As the number one port in the country for imported forest products, this is significant news for our forest product business,' said MPA Executive Director James J. White. 'We have continued to increase our tonnage in imported paper'going from 559,000 tons in 2005 to 680,000 tons last year. This new business will further boost one of the Port's key niche commodities.'

The Wagonborg vessel M.V. Missouriborg arrived at the Port recently bringing the first shipment of the new product. Under the current contract, at least one ship per month will bring the paper to the Port of Baltimore. The paper will be housed in a warehouse facility operated by BalTerm, the stevedore for the Myllykoski product.

The giant rolls of paper can each weigh between 3,800 and 7,000 pounds. If unraveled, each roll would stretch about 12 miles in length!

The Port of Baltimore employs more than 16,000 workers. In addition to being the number one port in the nation for handling imported forest products, Baltimore is number one in handling roll on/roll off cargo and the import of both gypsum and iron ore. Baltimore ranks second in the U.S. in the export of cars and trucks as well as the import of sugar, wood pulp and aluminum. Out of 361 U.S. ports, the Port of Baltimore is ranked 14th nationally for total foreign cargo tonnage handled and 12th for total dollar value of cargo.