The Hindu Business Line : Seshasayee Paper to set up pulp mill, chem recovery plant

SESHASAYEE Paper and Boards Ltd plans to set up a modern pulp mill and chemical recovery plant at a cost of Rs 350 crore as a prelude to capacity expansion.

According to Mr N. Gopalaratnam, Chairman, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Ltd, the company has identified a pulp mill in the US, which it plans to relocate to Seshasayee's existing facility in Erode. This mill will have a capacity to produce 350 tonnes of bleached pulp a day against its present requirement of 230 tonnes. The project is likely to be commissioned in mid-2007.

This means that the company can also go ahead with paper capacity expansion in the future.

The funds will be generated from internal resources and through long-term debt, he said.

The company has opted for a used pulp mill to conserve costs. The new pulp mill will meet the objective of bringing down pollution by using the Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) process and provide cost-effective, in-house pulp. Pulp mill apart, the other related chemical recovery systems would be procured new locally, he said.

Seshasayee Paper is well set to keep its costs down and retain the competitive edge in the market, he said. The new pulp mill will do away with imports of costly pulp.

The modernised facility will fully utilise steam from Chemical Recovery Boiler and generate additional power. This will be in addition to its existing captive power unit and the surplus power can be exported to State grid, he said.

In March 2005, it commissioned a 20-MW captive power plant at a cost of Rs 65 crore that now meets over 85 per cent of its power requirement. In 2000, it expanded its production capacity to 1.15 lakh tonnes a year. With the setting up of the pulp mill further expansions are possible, he said.

Apart from the cost advantage, the company will also be able to conform to pollution norms.

The new facility will have new oxygen de-lignification system, eliminate chlorine for bleaching wood pulp, a new lime kiln to minimise solid waste. The company will be able to phase out outdated wood pulping and recovery equipment.

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