The Hindu Business Line : ITC paper division capacity addition, tech infusion on course

Kolkata, Sept. 20 Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division of ITC Ltd is going full steam on manufacture of writing and printing paper through addition of a new line for one lakh tonnes capacity (Paper machine 6, at a cost of Rs 400 crore), work on which is targeted for completion by March 2008. ITC is also setting up a second ECF (elemental chlorine free) line at its mill at a cost of Rs 600 crore.

Expansion

Even as ITC’s proposed greenfield paper and pulp project at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore is waiting to take off, (either in Madhya Pradesh or Andhra Pradesh), the company, in the interim, has planned capacity addition and technology infusion for eco-friendly products. In the area of pulp, the plan is to achieve total self sufficiency in the area of hard wood pulp, to save precious foreign exchange.

Talking to Business Line here recently on the capacity addition and other on-going projects ( such as a new pulp mill), in Bhadrachalam, Kovai and Bollaram (in Andhra Pradesh), which will take the company’s paper making capacity (both boards and paper, including recycled paper) to over eight lakh tonnes annually, Mr Pradeep Dhobale, CEO of PSPD (Papers and Specialty Paper Division), said the second ECF pulp mill, once commissioned, would be the first in the country with ozone bleaching.

Recycled boards

The 1.3 lakh-tonne capacity pulp line, he pointed out, will have the ability to make TCF (totally chlorine free) pulp, though with lesser brightness. He said ‘Ecoviron’ was the new variant of top end recycled boards manufactured by the company, for making its own ‘Classmate’ notebook, which has emerged as a preferred brand amongst school children.

(The notebooks, along with Expressions greeting cards, are made by the Chennai-based Greeting, Gifting and Stationery Business (GGSB) Division.) Mr Chand Das, CEO of the division, told Business Line that the Classmate Notebooks have climbed to the No 1 position in the market. “We are well poised to expand frontiers across the entire range of stationery as new capacity comes on-stream at Bhadrachalam.”

The polycoated boards manufactured at the Bollaram unit for making beverage cups, in the brand name of ‘Indobev’, already enjoy a 65 per cent market share, he pointed out.

CDM projects

On the on-going CDM (clean development mechanism) projects, he said ITC has realised carbon credits for its blow heat recovery project at Bhadrachalam. The new SRB (soda recovery boiler), he added, will include a co-generation project which should be eligible for carbon credits. “We are making every effort to reduce energy and water consumption and also solid waste.” According to him, the recycled paper plant at Coimbatore has already achieved zero solid waste, “and other are fast catching up”.

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