Nippon Paper selected Metso Paper as key supplier of new papermaking line

Published May 10, 2006 09.00.00 +2 GMT

According to the Japanese tradition, the cover of a sake cask was broken in a ceremony held after the project kick-off meeting. Holding the mallets (from left): Nippon Paper Industries Senior Managing Director Hirofumi Ohba, Metso Project Manager Juha Järvelä, Metso-SHI President Hiroshi Miura, Nippon Paper Industries Director Tetsu Nakayama and Marubeni's General Manager Koki Takeuchi.

Nippon Paper Industries has selected Metso Paper to supply most of the technology for its new 350,000 tpy papermaking line to be built at its Ishinomaki mill in northeastern Honshu, Japan. The total value of the Metso order, which extensively covers technology for papermaking, paper finishing, air systems and automation, exceeds EUR 80 million. The new production line is due to start up in late September 2007.

Nippon Paper Industries Ishinomaki PM N6, as it is called, will be the first new papermaking unit in Japan since 1998. Largely relying on Metso Paper's OptiConcept technology, it will produce both fine paper and light-weight coated grades in a basis weight range of 51 to 79 g/m2. With a wire width of 9.45 m and a design speed of 1,800 m/min, it will be among the largest paper machines ever constructed in the country.

Nippon Paper Industries, which forms a major part of Nippon Paper Group, is Japan's leading paper producer. The Ishinomaki mill currently runs 11 paper machines producing a total of 900,000 tons per year.

The entire Nippon Paper Group produces approx. 7.4 million tons per year of paper and board with a total of approx. 90 paper machines at 23 mills in Japan, 2 in the U.S.A., 3 in China and 1 in Finland. The Group dominates the domestic Japanese paper market with a 26 % market share.

Metso is a global engineering and technology corporation with 2005 net sales of approximately EUR 4.2 billion. Its 22 000 employees in more than 50 countries serve customers in the pulp and paper industry, rock and minerals processing, the energy industry and selected other industries. www.metso.com

For further information, please contact: Sakari Häyrynen Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing Paper and Board Business Line Tel.+358 40 563 3742 E-mail: sakari.hayrynen@metso.com

Metso-SHI Co., Ltd Yoshiharu Kayoh Vice President, Sales Paper and Board Business Line Tel. +81 (0)90-2644-5161 E-mail: yoshiharu.kayoh@metso.com