Suzano Pulp and Paper, São Paulo, Brazil, reports that it will plant more than 145 million eucalyptus seedlings throughout 2010 to develop its forestry base. The eucalyptus trees will supply the industrial units currently in operation and the new growth cycle, allowing the company to reach, over the next decade, an annual production capacity of 7.2 million metric tons of pulp. This investment cycle encompasses two new mills, one in Maranhão State and another in Piauí State, which should startup in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and a third site yet to be determined, in addition to the Mucuri Unit expansion.
With this forestry investment, the company will plant approximately 398,000 trees a day. In 2009, it planted approximately 73 million eucalyptus seedlings on its own properties, 21 million of which were allocated for the two new mills. Currently, the company has met 75% of its needs for land to supply the Maranhão mill and 100% of the land to ensure production in Piauí beginning in 2014. More than 1,700 direct employees and outsourced personnel are already working in the states of Maranhão and Piauí to meet labor requirements needed to set up the forestry base for the units contemplated in the new growth cycle.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/