The Hindu Business Line : Metso to expand paper equipment biz in India

METSO Corporation of Finland, a global market leader in papermaking lines and minerals processing systems with a turnover of 4.7 billion euros, is targeting to expand its paper equipment business in India to 75 million euros during the next four years. The company had sold Rs 200 crore worth of equipment in the country in the past six years.

"The Indian paper industry is growing at 7-8 per cent per annum at present and Metso is working aggressively to capture the growing business," the Finnish company's Director, Mr Georg Erik Kreutzman, and Sales Manager, Chemical Pulping Business, Mr Yngve Lundahl, told Business Line here on Wednesday.

They said Metso was also exploring the possibility of expanding the activity of manufacturing its paper equipment in India. At present, the multinational company was manufacturing part of its equipment at the Kolkata-based Mechano Paper Machines Ltd.

"We are currently checking the production quality of other Indian equipment manufacturing companies so as to produce major portion of our equipment here." At present, 75 per cent of Mesto's equipment was being imported into the country.

Mechano's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr B.K. Kariwal, said that Metso was also planning to export its Indian-made equipment to neighbouring countries. Almost all the top paper mills in the country, having a capacity of over 150 tonnes per annum, were currently using Metso technology that saves chemical consumption and energy apart from reducing water pollution during the production of pulp.

Mr Kreutzman said that Metso was currently operating in over 50 countries and its emerging markets were India and South America. He was of the view that India would be on par with China in terms of paper consumption in the coming years. At present, the per capita consumption of paper in China was 25 kg per annum as against just five kg in India. There was also a growing demand for good quality paper, which meant there was good potential for Metso's technology.

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