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NEWS continued
INTERNATIONAL continued
Paraguay announces first pulp project
Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce recently announced a $300-million investment in new forest sector development that will see the construction of the country's first large-scale market pulp mill. Parana River Finance & Development Co. will build a high-yield bleached eucalyptus pulp mill 400 km south of the capital Asuncion, in Itapa state. The mill will have 210,000 metric tpy of installed capacity and will utilize peroxide bleaching, according to engineering studies undertaken by NLK Consultants Inc. of Vancouver. Based on the results from pilot plants, the mill's high-yield pulp will be marketed for high-quality printing/writing papers, and sanitary tissue products. Construction will begin in early 1997, and will be completed in 1998.
 Woodfiber will be supplied by new eucalyptus plantation forests to be developed in a 100-km area around the mill. A total of 25,000 hectares are planned. While these forests are being planted, the mill will import wood from nearby plantations in Argentina. A total of 78,000 hectares of eucalyptus and 290,000 hectares of pine are available in the border states of Corrientes and Misiones. Financing for the project will come from private investors, international commercial banks, including the World Bank, and a consortium of equity investors in Canada, Europe, and the U.S.
Diaper makers plan expansions
Diaper manufacturer Drypers Corp., Houston, Texas, has reached agreement to acquire Pannolini de Mexico SA de CV, its contract manufacturer in Mexico. The acquisition will allow Drypers to expand production at Pannolini, which currently dedicates a third of its capacity to the company's diapers. Pannolini's total sales were about $15 million in 1995.
Drypers is also arranging lease finance for the installation of the first of two new production lines planned at its Vancouver, Wash. plant. The production line is expected onstream first quarter 1997.
In the third quarter, Drypers reported a 27% increase in net sales to $55.1 million. The company reports strong demand for its premium diaper and training pants products, partly due to the introduction earlier this year of diapers with absorbent cores containing baking soda. 
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EXPANSION/MODERNIZATION
Carter Holt Harvey targets Kinleith mill
Carter Holt Harvey Ltd. (CHH), New Zealand's largest paper and forest products company, in December announced a NZ$313 million modernization program for its Kinleith pulp and paper mill located in central North Island. The announcement follows 18 months of detailed analysis and engineering study, said company CEO John Faraci. The Kinleith mill near Tokoroa currently has annual capacity of 90,000 metric tpy of bleached kraft pulp, 70,000 mtpy of unbleached kraft pulp, and 40,000 mtpy of fluff pulp capacity. The complex also includes two paper machines with capacity of 225,000 mtpy of kraft linerboard and 25,000 mtpy of kraft sack papers.
The modernization will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed by mid-1998. It involves a major rebuild of the No. 6 fourdrinier board machine, new pulp processing and drying equipment, and the construction of a new 100,000-mtpy wastepaper recycling plant. There will also be improvements to the mill's environmental performance, including a 28-million-liter per day reduction in water consumption and effluent discharge.
The No. 6 board machine was installed in 1973. It has a trim width of 6.3 meters and a maximum speed of 600 m/min. As part of the project, the older No. 5 machine will be permanently shut down, eliminating 150 employees. The project will result in a 33% increase in total mill production to 600,000 mtpy when completed.
Faraci said the investment was consistent with the company's strategy of adding value to its fiber base in New Zealand, where it owns more than 800,000 acres of radiata pine plantation forests. The Kinleith project will also lead to better cost competitiveness in the global marketplace, said Faraci. Much of the additional output will be targeted at markets in the Asia-Pacific region. CHH is just over 50% owned by International Paper Co.
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