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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1



PRESS RELEASE                 Contact:  Bill Foust
                                        770-569-4203

                                        Paul Roberts
                                        770-569-4277




              SCHWEITZER-MAUDUIT ACQUIRES BRAZILIAN PAPER COMPANY


Alpharetta, GA, February 2, 1998. Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc.
(NYSE:SWM) today announced it has acquired a controlling interest in Companhia
Industrial de Papel Pirahy ("Pirahy"), a specialty paper manufacturer located in
Santanesia, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pirahy was previously a wholly owned
subsidiary of Souza Cruz S.A.

Schweitzer-Mauduit paid US$61,984,476 for ownership of 99.97 percent of the
shares of Pirahy. The remaining .03 percent of the Pirahy shares were acquired
by certain minority shareholders of Souza Cruz who exercised their preemptive
rights to acquire Pirahy shares. The acquisition was funded through a
combination of existing cash and loans with Schweitzer-Mauduit's current banking
group.

With 1997 sales of approximately $75 million, Pirahy is the largest supplier of
tobacco-related papers to South America. It also produces printing and writing
papers as well as papers for packaging and labeling applications.

Wayne H. Deitrich, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of
Schweitzer-Mauduit commented that, "The acquisition of Pirahy with its five
paper machines and coater provides approximately 63,000 metric tons of annual
paper capacity and is an important strategic step for Schweitzer-Mauduit. It
will increase our market share in South America of tobacco-related papers to
approximately 51 percent. During 1998, we plan to improve the manufacturing
capabilities of Pirahy to support the growing demand for high quality
tobacco-related papers in the region. Also, the acquisition is not expected to
have a material impact on Schweitzer-Mauduit's 1998 net income."

Mr. Deitrich also announced that Luiz Jose de Saboia e Silva has joined
Schweitzer-Mauduit as President of Brazilian Operations. The other directors of
Pirahy are Jose Carlos de Araujo Pedrosa-Finance, Paulo Monnerat do
Valle-Commercial and Waldyr Ribeiro-Production.

Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. is a diversified producer of premium
specialty papers and the world's largest supplier of fine papers to the tobacco
industry.  It also manufactures specialty papers for use in alkaline batteries,
vacuum cleaner bags, business forms, and printing and packaging applications.
Schweitzer-Mauduit and its subsidiaries conduct business in over 80 countries
and employ 3,200 people worldwide, with operations in the United States, France,
Brazil and Canada



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