Metso Paper has received an order worth over EUR 90 million from Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. in Chile. Metso Paper will supply a pulping system for the new greenfield kraft pulp mill. The mill will be built in the province of Valdivia in Southern Chile and is designed to produce 600,000 tons per year of bleached kraft market pulp. The operation of the mill is scheduled to start up in February 2004.
The delivery consists of a complete pulp mill fiber line and pulp drying system, covering all functions from cooking to pulp baling. The pulping line is designed to produce Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleached market pulp from radiata pine and eucalyptus. The chosen technology has been specially designed for production of a high quality end product with minimum environmental impact.
Arauco is one of the world's largest forestry companies in terms of the size of its plantations, and its output of market kraft pulp, sawn timber and panels. Arauco owns and operates four kraft pulp mills: the Arauco, Constitución and Licancel mills in Chile, and the Alto Paraná mill in Argentina. These mills have a combined annual capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes of bleached and unbleached kraft pulp. In addition, the company owns eleven sawmills, four remanufacturing plants, a plywood mill, a Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) mill and a High Density Fiberboard (HDF) mill.
The Arauco Company is almost totally owned (over 99.9%) by Compañía de Petróleos de Chile S.A (COPEC). In 2000, the net sales of Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. amounted to USD 1,183 million.
Metso Corporation is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems, as well as know-how and aftermarket and services. The corporation's core businesses are fiber and paper technology (Metso Paper), rock and mineral processing (Metso Minerals) and automation and control technology (Metso Automation). In 2001, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 4.3 billion and the personnel totaled approximately 30,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.