2 INDUSTRY NEWS
Pulp Paper & Logistics
World’s largest softwood pulp mill project attracts investors
I
nvestment funds are being raised to build a massive €1.4 billion soft wood pulp mill at Kuopio in Finland
that is expected to be the world’s biggest of its type and the country’s largest-ever bio- economy project. With constructi on planned to
start in 2017, the Finnpulp Oy mill is expected to start up in 2019 and eventually produce 1.2 million tons of soft wood pulp when it reaches full capacity in 2021. The fi rst fi nancing phase of €1.5 million was completed in April, said Finnpulp chief executi ve Martti Fredrikson. As a result, the company has gained three signifi cant investors, who represent Finnish forest and industry know-how. One is The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK), which has 400,000 members including most of the Finnish forest owners. “They believe in this project,
and are very confi dent about the availability of wood. In Finland forests are more owned by private persons and families than by companies,” said Fredrikson The second shareholder is Ingman Finance, which is an important family-owned fund in Finland. Third investor is Grizzly Hill Capital, run by Gustaf Björnberg, whose family owned Myllykoski Paper before it was sold to UPM. With the initi al fi nancing
completed Finnpulp is starti ng an environmental impact assessment study and is co-operati ng closely with the city of Kuopio, which is preparing for the city planning required by the project. Fredrikson says the Kuopio pulp mill will be the world’s largest producti on unit for soft wood pulp and tall oil and will also produce a signifi cant amount of other bioproducts. The amount of bio electricity fed to the nati onal grid will be about 1 TWh.
Power upgrades for Georgia-Pacific’s Palatka mill
US-based paper maker Georgia- Pacifi c is planning to invest about $70 million at its Palatka mill in Florida to modernise the evaporati on system and related equipment in its power plant. It will mean that recent investment to make the mill safer, more effi cient and competi ti ve will total $100m. The new evaporati on system
May/June 2015
investment is designed to make the mill more energy effi cient and reduce water use by more than 30 per cent. Says Palatka Mill manager Kevin Curry: “We conti nue to make ongoing investments in the mill to help reduce our overall environmental impact and to improve our cost- competi ti veness. This investment
helps accomplish both of those goals, and earning this investment is a great accomplishment for our enti re Palatka team. Our mill employees conti nue to work hard to operate our mill safely and create value for customers, the community, our company and our families.” The Palatka mill, founded in 1947 and with 900 employees, operates
“With the new capital Finnpulp is able to start and accomplish the environmental permit process,” said Fredrikson, who was previously chief executi ve of Forchem Oy, and has worked in the paper industry since 1977. “The well-known new investors on board are the best protecti on for a successful project implementati on as planned. Great forest industry traditi on and know-how in Finland will further support this highly ambiti ous project.”
two kraft paper machines, three paper machines for ti ssue and paper towels, and a number of converti ng operati ons producing fi nished paper products ready for customers. Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacifi c and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath ti ssue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, offi ce papers, cellulose, specialty fi bres, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals.
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