2 INDUSTRY NEWS


Next-generation bio-product mill started up by Metsä


Pulp Paper & Logistics


M


etsä Group’s ‘next- generation’ bio-products mill


at Äänekoski in Finland started operations at 6am on the


morning of 15 August. The construction project was said to have been carried out as planned, in accordance with its schedule and its €1.2 billion budget.


Pulp deliveries from the new


mill to customers were due to begin early in September. Before the bio-product mill


started up, the old pulp mill in Äänekoski was shut down and


Paper and paperboard production in US to reach 83.5m tons in 2021


US paper and paperboard production is forecast to reach 83.5 million short tons in 2021, according to Paper & Paperboard: United States, a report recently


published by Freedonia Focus Reports. Continued gains in production and


sales of durable and nondurable goods that require packaging will


support growth in paperboard output. Among the paper segments, output of packaging and industrial paper is expected to see the fastest gains as building construction


its dismantling is currently in progress. The bio-product mill will achieve its nominal capacity about a year after start-up. The mill will produce up to 1.3 million tonnes of pulp per year, along with other bio-products such as tall oil and turpentine. New bio-products that already complement the product concept include gas from bark, sulphuric acid from the mill’s odorous gases, and biogas and biofuel pellets from sludge. Metsä says that with the new bio-product mill Äänekoski’s industrial ecosystem is developing and growing, and the mill will be a platform for production of new bio-products. Several processes and product paths are being actively studied. The most important new bio- product development projects are lignin products, textile fibres, and bio-composites. • More about the Äänekoski mill in the next issue of PPL.


activity will drive expansion in industrial paper production. In addition, rising non-durable


goods production will boost packaging paper sales, says Freedonia. Newsprint production is projected to see further declines due to competition from digital media.


More CRB capacity to be taken out in US


Graphics Packaging International (GPI) is planning to close its coated recycled paperboard (CRB) mill at Santa Clara in California by the end of 2017. GPI said that the decision was made following a thorough assessment of the facility’s manufacturing capabilities and associated costs in the context of the company’s overall mill operating capability. The facility


September/October 2017


has 120 employees. The Santa Clara mill has


capacity for 138,000 tons of paperboard, representing about 6-7 per cent of CRB market capacity in the US. “The closing of the Santa


Clara facility was a difficult decision. We are working closely with the affected employees to provide support and assistance,” said GPI’s chief


executive Michael Doss. “Following the closure, we


expect to meet our external and internal paperboard commitments previously serviced by our Santa Clara mill by redistributing production across our lower-cost Midwest coated recycled mills, as well as our West Monroe, Louisiana, and Macon, Georgia, coated unbleached kraft paper mills.


Our ability to redistribute our production underscores the flexibility that we have across our mill system that has been greatly enhanced over the last several years through targeted and strategic capital investments.” Santa Clara will be the second CRB mill closure this year following that of PaperWorks in Philadelphia in April.


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