Metso Paper to supply a newsprint line to a greenfield paper mill in Hebei, China

Published Sept 15, 2003 14.00.00 +2 GMT

Metso Paper will supply a complete OptiConcept newsprint line to Hebei PanAsia Long-Teng Paper Co., Ltd. of China. The newsprint line which uses 100 per cent recycled fiber as raw material will start production in summer 2005. The value of Metso's order is not disclosed. The combined value of the pulp and paper machine and equipment orders Metso Paper has received this year from China is approximately EUR 550 million.

Metso's scope of delivery comprises a complete paper machine with auxiliary equipment, 2 winders, air systems as well as a short circulation system. Machine automation and quality control systems will be supplied by Metso Automation. The paper machine has a wire width of 8.45 meters with design speed of 2,000 m/min and its planned capacity is 330,000 tonnes per year.

Hebei PanAsia Long-Teng Paper Co., Ltd. selected Metso Paper to supply the new production line thanks to their advanced technological solutions and the reliable, long-term cooperation between the companies over the past years.

The newsprint line will be built in a greenfield paper mill in the industrially developed Hebei Province, approximately 300 km southwest of Beijing. The total value of the greenfield mill investment amounts to approximately USD 300 million.

Hebei PanAsia Long-Teng Paper Co., Ltd. is a joint venture of PanAsia Paper Co. Pte Ltd. in Singapore and the Chinese Hebei Longteng Paper Corporation. PanAsia Paper, the major partner by 65 per cent ownership, is in turn owned by the Norwegian Norske Skog and the Canadian Abitibi Consolidated. The company is one of the biggest newsprint producers in Asia. Previously, Metso Paper has supplied four paper machines to PanAsia Paper's mills in Korea and Thailand.

The newsprint demand in China has risen from 1.15 million tonnes in 1998 to nearly 1.8 million tonnes in 2002. Market outlook estimates an annual growth at close to 8 per cent until 2010.

More information: Hannu Mälkiä, President of Paper Business Line, Metso Paper, tel. +358 400 460 587