The Karelia Pulp company, one of Russia’s largest pulp producers, will invest 50 billion rubles (US$679 million) in the modernization of the Kondopoga Pulp and Paper Mill in the Republic of Karelia. That will allow to reorient the enterprise from the main production of newsprint to the production of packaging cardboard.
According to press-service of the Karelian government, the new owner of the mill - Karelia Pulp LLC - plans to start work on the production of new types of products in 2021, while, for this purpose, roadmap has been developed to reorient production processes for the production of lightweight packaging cardboard in order to enter new sales markets.
Modernization works are carried out without stopping production processes. Thus, the volume of paper produced in January-July 2021 amounted to 390,600 tons, which is 3% more than in the same period in 2020. In addition to cardboard, the factory plans to launch the production of viscose cellulose and some packaging types of paper with a capacity, of more than 840,000 metric tons per year.
Director of the Kondopoga PPM Oleg Zaitsev comments:
"The reconstruction of the plant is a priority task for us, as the project will improve the economy of not only the enterprise, but also the city. Tax payments to the budgets of different levels will increase, new highly professional jobs will be created. The Kondopoga 2024 project will become a driver of development for the entire region".
The company also plans to reconstruct the access road to the plant, which is also used by local residents. In addition, the authorities expect that the pulp and paper mill will support the Kondopoga technical school, which trains personnel for the plant.
TAPPI
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