Wanecq made the announcement as the group issued its results for 2001, which showed a 2% fall in sales to 1.2bn (EUR2.1bn).

The groups European carbonless operations suffered the largest fall, with earnings before interest and tax falling from a 3.5m profit in 2000 to a 23.3m loss in 2001.

On the carbonless production side, the group will also look to reposition certain machines at its manufacturing mills to produce other grades of paper.

And Arjo is also looking to expand its operations in North America, where it currently only has a presence in the speciality coated papers market.

ArjoWiggins will also concentrate on value-added products, such as security paper, said Wanecq, as he believes these are less likely to be affected by current economic conditions.

Operating profits rose 33% to 101m. Wanecq said he remained optimistic about the outlook for this year.