4 INDUSTRY NEWS


Shangdong Sun Paper mill project in US could be delayed


Pulp Paper & Logistics


News in brief


n The value of the global optical brighteners market is expected to reach US$1.11 billion by 2024, according to a report by Grand View Research Inc. Rising demand for optical brighteners from various industries including paper, personal laundry, textiles and cosmetics to improve illumination of the finished product is expected to be a principal factor in stimulating growth over the forecast period. Increasing demand for


whitening agents from the paper industry owing to their ability to impart superior brightness is expected to improve product penetration over the forecast period. Paper accounted for 35.8 per cent of the global volume share in 2015.


C


onstruction of Shangdong Sun Paper’s first mill in the US could be delayed because


of ongoing pre-engineering and feasibility studies. Plan was for site work on the $1.3 billion bio- product paper mill in Arkansas to start early in 2017. The Chinese papermaker, one of the world’s largest, has been working on the project for more than five years. The mill is to be located south of Arkadelphia at the centre of a region of timberland covering 18.8 million acres.


In April, a memorandum of understanding was signed by founder and chairman of Shangdong Sun Paper Li Hongxin and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. At the time, officials from the papermaker said they


September/October 2016


hoped to begin construction in the first quarter of 2017. But in July after the signing,


pre-engineering firms in Arkansas were still to finalise design and technical details of the project that will allow the permitting application process to begin with the state Department of Environment Quality (ADEQ). “They are still trying to nail


down some of the issues involving the project and it has taken more time than was expected,” said Julie Mullenix of Little Rock-based Mullenix & Associates, a local government relations, PR and lobbying firm that is handling the negotiations. Mullenix said the Chinese


paper maker is still trying to finalise the paper goods and “product mix” that the Gum Springs mill will be able to


manufacture once operational. “Once we meet with those


pre-engineering firms, then we will get those [ADEQ] applications under way,” Mullenix said. “It will push the timetable back somewhat. It will be more like the third quarter now because it will take those engineering firms several months to prepare the exhaustive applications.” A local Shangdong Sun Paper


spokeswoman stressed the “bio- products” nature of the South Arkansas paper manufacturing facility, meaning that the mill will be able to use the region’s huge inventory of unused forest dregs, logging leftovers, imperfect commercial trees, dead wood and other non-commercial trees that need to be thinned from crowded, unhealthy, fire-prone forests.


n Kotkamills has formed a European sales network for its upcoming folding boxboard and barrier board products. Kotkamills can now offer personal service through local presence all over Europe. The newly formed sales


network consists of 13 sales representatives covering more than 30 countries. A local sales network is at the core of Kotkamills’ strategy, as its new consumer board machine is to start production later this summer in Kotka, Finland. The network allows


Kotkamills to be present where the customers are and to provide a local service.


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