BAP Announces $60 Million Nicaraguan Biorefinery and Paper Mill

BAP Industries of Guatemala has announced the signing of a 10-year exclusive Bamboo Purchase Agreement with US-based EcoPlanet Bamboo Group for 100 percent of the off-take from its sustainably grown Nicaraguan bamboo plantations, as part of a strategic alliance with Advance Pulp and Paper Machinery (AP&P Machinery) of British Columbia, Canada.

Utilizing AP&P technology, BAP will invest in the construction and operation of the world’s first bamboo biorefinery and associated paper mill, which is to be co-located in Nicaragua within proximity of the bamboo raw resource. This initial facility will have the capacity to process up to 250,000 metric tpy of bamboo, producing a range of 100 percent bamboo toilet, tissue and cleaning papers.

BAP will use AP&P’s innovative pulping technology which is zero waste, closed loop, chlorine-free, and utilizes only 30 percent of the energy and water of a traditional wood chip pulp mill. Combined with EcoPlanet Bamboo’s tree-free, deforestation-free bamboo fiber, which has contributed to reforestation efforts in one of the most deforested parts of the planet, this strategic alliance is a triple-win scenario for conscious minded consumers across North and Latin America.

"The Bamboo Purchase Agreement with EcoPlanet, and the announcement of a $60-million Nicaraguan facility with BAP is just the first step of a multi-faceted strategic alliance aimed at turning the toilet paper industry from a negative global footprint into something positive" said Mark Nash, CEO of AP&P Machinery. Mario Salan, CEO of BAP added that this facility is the first of a trio of such bamboo industrial developments to be announced in the coming months.

EcoPlanet Bamboo has been committed to developing closed loop, clean biorefineries, to ensure that end products are as clean, sustainable and environmentally positive as the bamboo fiber itself. "The Bamboo Purchase Agreement with BAP, and larger partnership into a state of the art manufacturing facility in Nicaragua fulfills a major goal we set out to achieve seven years ago. Most importantly it will provide hundreds of much needed jobs in Nicaragua, reward all those who have contributed towards achieving our triple bottom line vision, and provide the final piece in the building of a global bamboo resource base as a viable and market driven solution to deforestation," saids CEO Troy Wiseman.

BAP Industries was developed as a partnership between a team of Guatemalan engineers and bamboo experts, and Canada-based AP&P Machinery, to develop a next generation pulp and associated paper and textile products; combining tree-free, deforestation-free bamboo with the world’s first bamboo based bio-refinery.

EcoPlanet Bamboo is the global leader in the development of sustainable bamboo plantations as a viable alternative resource for wood and fiber industries globally. The company owns and operates more than 4,000 hectares of bamboo plantations in Nicaragua and South Africa.