BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi Fine Paper
North America announced today the successful completion of its
US$170 million capital conversion
project at the Cloquet Mill in Minnesota to produce Specialised Cellulose,
which is used in textile and consumer goods markets. The conversion
initiated in 2011, was accomplished on time, within budget, and
safely. This major investment reflects Sappi's commitment to the
North American region as a key player in the global Specialised
Cellulose market and will be celebrated during an open house at
Cloquet Mill today.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110728/MM43821LOGO )
"Sappi's investment in the Cloquet Mill reinforces our position
as a worldwide leader in the Specialised Cellulose market,
demonstrating our reputation of reliability and technical
know-how," said Mark Gardner,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Sappi Fine Paper North
America. "Through incredible teamwork, the remarkable execution of
our Specialised Cellulose conversion is a reflection of Sappi Fine
Paper North America's expertise in manufacturing new, innovative
products with the unparalleled quality our customers have come to
expect."
Sappi globally is currently the largest manufacturer of
Specialised Cellulose in the world with capacity totaling to over
1.3 million metric tons per year. Specialised Cellulose, also known
as dissolving wood pulp, is a versatile raw material used by
manufacturers to produce a wide range of products including textile
fibers, pharmaceutical, beauty, and household products.
"The Cloquet Mill is ideally suited to help Sappi secure its
global leadership position regarding Specialised Cellulose. It is
the newest pulp mill in America, close to its fiber basket and with
a highly skilled and motivated workforce," said Ralph Boettger, Chief Executive Officer, Sappi
Limited. "The mill adds to Sappi's flexibility in serving its
global customer base and has, from start-up, produced excellent
quality product. Cloquet's paper
and now dissolving pulp capabilities are central to the ongoing
success of Sappi in North
America."
The company now has the capability to produce Specialised
Cellulose on two continents including its South Africa expansion at the Sappi Ngodwana
Mill and its Saiccor Mill in KwaZulu-Natal. With the Cloquet conversion now complete, the mill's
Specialised Cellulose production is 330,000 metric tons per
year.
"For a capital project of this magnitude and complexity, we are
very pleased with its successful completion," said Rick Dwyer, Managing Director, Cloquet, Sappi Fine Paper North America. "It
is with great pride that we are celebrating the hard work of our
employees and contractors and their role in helping Sappi bring
state-of-the-art innovation to the Cloquet Mill as we continue to
invest in North American manufacturing."
At peak construction, over 1100 workers were employed on the
project with 41 different contractors totaling to over 550,000 man
hours. In the first two weeks of the start-up curve, average
production was between 500-600 tons to over 1,000 tons produced per
day as ramp up continued into July. Product output has exceeded
quality targets and the production capacity is currently
fully-secured to fulfill customer orders.
The company takes great pride in producing products in
the United States. In addition to
this Specialised Cellulose conversion project, Sappi has made
significant capital investments across all of its North American
business units over the past year. Excellence in coated paper
manufacturing continues to remain a top priority at Cloquet with $15M recently invested towards a dry fiber
handling system as well as new refiners and former upgrades on both
PM4 and PM12. The company has also upgraded coated paper
capabilities at Somerset Mill, in Skowhegan, Maine with a $13M rebuild of PM3; and, in the Release sector,
it has invested $2.5M to rebuild the
specialty coater at the Westbrook Mill in Maine. These strategic investments represent
Sappi's strong track record as a global leader and its long-term
growth strategy in North American operations.
About Sappi Fine Paper North America
Sappi Fine Paper North America, known for innovation and
quality, is a preeminent North American producer of coated
fine and release papers, as well as dissolving wood
pulp (DWP) and market kraft pulp headquartered in
Boston, Massachusetts. Its coated
fine papers, with highly recognized brand names such as McCoy,
Opus, Somerset and Flo, are used
in premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print
advertising. The company is also the world's leading supplier of
release papers for the automotive, fashion and engineered films
industries, including the globally recognized Ultracast brand.
Sappi's release papers provide the surface aesthetics for synthetic
fabrics used in footwear, clothing, upholstery and accessories, as
well as the textures for decorative laminates found in kitchens,
baths, flooring and other decorative surfaces. Sappi globally is
the world's largest manufacturer of dissolving wood pulp, a
versatile raw material for a wide range of products including
textile fibers and household products. Sappi Fine Paper North
America, through the recent conversion of the Cloquet pulp mill, manufactures dissolving
pulp under Sappi's Specialised Cellulose division primarily for the
textile markets.
Sappi Fine Paper North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited
(JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with over 14,000
employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven
countries and customers in over 100 countries around the world.
Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com/na.
For further information:
Joanna Rieke
Manager, Corporate Communications
Sappi Fine Paper North America
Office: 617-423-5409
joanna.rieke@sappi.com
Shannon McLoughlin
Burson-Marsteller
Office: 617-912-5412
Mobile: 646-379-7508
shannon.mcloughlin@bm.com
SOURCE Sappi Fine Paper North America