Montes del Plata Negotiating with Andritz for Supply of New Pulp Mill Equipment

Montes del Plata, Uruguay, a joint venture company of Stora Enso (Finland) and Arauco, Chile, is reportedly in advanced negotiations with Andritz, Graz, Austria, to supply production technologies and equipment for Montes del Plata's new pulp mill in Punta Pereira, Uruguay (1.3 million metric tpy of eucalyptus market pulp). The value of the order has not been disclosed, but typical order values of comparable reference projects are EUR 750-800 million, Andritz notes.

The scope of supply includes EPC delivery of the complete fiberline as well as the recovery island, including all relevant process steps. Startup of production is scheduled for the first half of 2013.

On Dec. 30, 2010, Montes del Plata received the environmental permit for its pulp project from the Uruguayan government. The new pulp mill will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, using eucalyptus essentially from Montes del Plata's own plantations.

Construction and operation of the pulp mill will provide a significant positive economic stimulus to the country. An average of 3,200 (peak of 6,000) workers will be employed during construction. Once the mill is operational, it will permanently employ about 500 people.

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