Ilim Group opened its new 1.7 billion roubles ($56.2 million) semi-chemical pulp mill

Sep 23, 2009. /Lesprom Network/. On September 20, Ilim Group announced the official launch of its new mill in Koryazhma (Arkhangelsk region, Russia) producing neutral sulfite semi-chemical pulp, as the company informed Lesprom Network. According to Ilim, it is the largest semi-chemical pulp production capacity in the world. At the opening of the mill, group’s CEO Paul Herbert said: ‘Our new plant in Koryazhma is an example of effective cooperation with the regional authorities. Developing the project, we were certain that we should install state-of-the-art equipment. For Ilim Group, using modern technologies means sound perspectives for the company’s development, decreasing environmental pressure, improved labour conditions and professional growth’. ‘It is important that Ilim Group implements its reconstruction and modernization plans despite the crisis, along with that, new projects are carried out in time’, Arkhangelsk region governor Ilya Mikhalchyuk said. ‘Hardwood species are used in semi-chemical pulp production. Arkhangelsk region has enough resources to provide the mill with raw wood and is ready to grant additional forest sites to the company’. As the company’s release says, this project is included into the federal top priority investment projects list, and over 1.7 billion roubles were invested into the mill. The line capacity is 900 tons per day or 310,000 tons annually. Launch of the plant will enable to improve high-quality semi-chemical pulp market access which is used in containerboard production and decrease raw timber use, compared to conventional pulp production techniques. The new mill will diminish high-quality cardboard manufacturing cost and will increase its production volume by more than 40,000 tons per annum. Modern technologies allow declining polluting waste by 15-20%, as said in the report. Production line is developed by Metso Paper Sundsvall AB, Austria’s Honeywell equipment is used in controlling the process.