Chilean Pulp Operations Coming Back

Chile's CMPC reported earlier this week that it expects in April to gradually recover a "substantial" part of pulp output capacity in four plants shutdown after the February 27 earthquake, according to a Reuters news report. The factories Laja, Pacifico, Sante Fe I, and Santa Fe II are still down but the damage is not irreparable and is covered by insurance, CMPC said. Much of the rest of its operations came back online as its posterboard, wrapping paper, sawmill, and plywood businesses re-established normal activity. However, the newsprint mill of Inforsa en Nacimiento will not be operational until the first half of April, the company said.

Chilean rival Arauco, the forestry unit of conglomerate Empresas Copec, reported its Valdivia pulp plant came back on line but said the company was still evaluating damage to other operations from the earthquake zone in south-central Chile, the Reuters report noted. Valdivia has an annual production capacity of 550,000 metric tons.

TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/