Westrock announces expansion of paper mill in Três Barras (SC)

The WestRock announces the approval of investment of $345 million for the extension of U your paper mill, located in Três Barras (SC). The announcement reflects the commitment of WestRock with Brazil. The expansion is part of the long-term strategic plan of company aims to expand the business your integrated from the beginning of next year, is counting on significant increase of your corrugated cardboard production capacity when new operations unit of Porto Feliz-SÃO PAULO (State of the art in technology, innovation and service level, fruits of investment of more than $ $125 million in 2018) will be in your total capacity: more than 400 million square meters of Corrugated Board annually. In addition to the new unit of Porto Feliz, WestRock account with three corrugated units: Blumenau (SC), Araçatuba (SP) and Pacajus (CE), strategically located to meet the demands of your customers, wherever they are. With the investment, the company also mira in kraft paper market high-performance, aiming to meet, consistently, customers of the domestic and export markets. With the expansion, the paper mill of three bars will have total production capacity of your line of HyPerform high-performance paper about 685k tons per year (750 k short tons/year), from a previous total of about 470k tons/year (520 k short tons/year). HyPerform papers are produced from Virgin fiber from eucalyptus and pinus, Forest operations WestRock and offer superior strength with reduced weight, in addition to better uniformity in basis weight, thickness profiles and moisture, which together give significant performance gains in the production process. "This new contribution required long-term planning and is totally related to previous investments that we do, like Porto Feliz, aimed at the end of the day, nothing more than meet our purpose: boosting the business of our customers with unique products and services. When the expansion is operating, will set new standards with regard to efficiency and productivity, coupled with the delivery of differentiated products, with the highest quality available on the market "explains Jairo Leiva, President of Westrock in Brazil. The announced investments in three bars are directed mainly to expansion and optimization of industrial resources exist, including the installation of new Woodyard, extension of lines from pulp, new power boilers recovery and expansion of paper machines, in addition to the installation of production support equipment. The expansion also reaffirms the commitment to sustainability WestRock. From the changes and facilities provided for in the expansion, the paper mill of three bars will increase the efficiency of utilization of wood for pulp generation, renewable raw materials, recyclable and eco-friendly. The investments also will impact positively on energy efficiency, increasing the self-sufficiency of 55% to 85%. The expansion works will start in February 2019, with completion forecast for March 2021.