Valmet, Finland, will supply the main equipment to Huanggang Chenming Pulp & Paper's new pulp mill located in the city of Huanggang in Hubei province, China. The pulp mill is designed for flexible production to respond to market developments. The pulp line can be run to produce softwood kraft pulp and dissolving pulp, depending on the market needs. The new mill is expected to start up in 2017. 

 

Valmet's delivery includes the main equipment excluding only some specific process parts. The value of the order is about EUR 110 million. 

"Huanggang will be our new business location, where we plan to have a three-phase investment. This pulp mill investment is the first phase. We have been cooperating with Valmet close to 20 years. Our people trust Valmet's know-how and its service spirit. We are happy to select Valmet as the main equipment supplier to this project," said Chen Hongguo, chairman of Chenming Group.

"Huanggang pulp mill project offers both our engineering and production personnel work in the Nordics, Asia Pacific and China. This pulp mill will be the world's largest dissolving pulp producer, and the order shows the customer's trust on Valmet's know-how in pulp and dissolving pulp technology," said Bertel Karlstedt, president of Valmet's Pulp and Energy Business Line.

Valmet's delivery is based on state-of-the art technology in optimizing mill production, tailor making of dissolving grades, maximizing energy efficiency, and minimizing environmental impact. The delivery includes specific equipment and services for wood handling and pulp drying areas, hardwood and softwood multi-grade fiber line (excluding cooking), high dry solids evaporation plant, high power recovery boiler with integrated crystallization system, biomass gasification, lime kiln, and recausticizing. 

In addition to the equipment, the delivery includes process and basic engineering, detail engineering services, and virtual site training simulator for selected areas as well as installation and startup advisory services.

In parallel with the Huanggang supply contract, Chenming and Valmet agreed on the delivery of a separate non-condensable gas incinerator for the Chenming Group's Zhanjiang mill.

Huanggang Chenming Pulp and Paper is part of Shandong Chenming Paper Group Co., which is one of the leading paper manufacturers in China. The group's activities include afforestation, pulp making, and paper manufacturing. The company has more than 10 production sites around China. The group's annual paper production capacity is 6 million metric tons and it has about 13,000 employees.