By Rob Ryan, freelance writer
BRUSSELS,
Oct. 12, 2009
(RISI) -
Most Westerners know little about Sumatra, the 1,800-km long tropical island that lies northwest of Java. Perhaps they have heard that this is the sixth largest island in the world, or that it is home to endangered Sumatran tigers, orangutans and rhinos. Or that scenic Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in the world, offers a temperate respite for visitors to humid Sumatra.
For papermakers, Sumatra has particular significance. The fertile, rain-soaked tropical island is naturally suited to plantation forestry, and it boasts the operations of one of the world's largest and most modern pulp and paper producers - the APRIL group.
APRIL is already in the international big league in pulp and paper. "We remain the world's second largest producer of bleached hardwood kraft pulp and Asia's fourth largest producer of uncoated woodfree paper," says APRIL president A.J. Devanesan. And APRIL is pressing on with major expansions despite the global economic gloom, and importantly for an industry facing the challenge of climate change, the group is making important strides in terms of sustainability as well.
The Kerinci mill is operated by two APRIL subsidiaries: Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (RAPP), or Riaupulp for short, is responsible for pulping while Riau Andalan Kertas (RAK), also called Riaupaper, manages papermaking at the mill. Riaufibre, the fiber division of Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper, manages plantations at Kerinci.
Riaupulp began constructing its first pulp line in 1993. PL1 started commercial production in 1995. The output from the line was steadily upgraded and it reached 850,000 tonnes/yr in 1999. A further debottlenecking of the line was carried out in 2003.
The start-up of the first line was followed by a phased second pulping line expansion. PL2A started up in 2001, followed by PL2B later that year, with a design capacity of 1.3 million tonnes/yr of bleached hardwood kraft pulp.
Then, in 2008, Riaupulp started up a third pulp line. Riaupulp now has a combined capacity of 2.8 million tonnes/yr of bleached hardwood kraft pulp on three lines. That makes Kerinci one of the largest single site pulping operations in the world.
PL1 and PL2 feature the Superbatch cooking process from Metso, which can handle the variety of species used: plantation grown acacia as well as mixed hardwood. The third line features a continuous digester.
"The chips are cooked to a low kappa number, which reduces bleaching requirements", says Bo Dahl, technical sales manager. The mill uses a four-stage bleaching sequence (D0EOPD1D2) that produces elemental chlorine free pulp with good brightness. "We target brightness of at least 89 ISO, and achieve results of 90 to 91 ISO", says a Riaupulp spokesman.
The mill has four pulp drying machines. The most recent startup was PD4, a 6.6-m wide machine with a Fourdrinier wire section installed by Andritz. PD4 produces pulp with 90% dryness.
The dried pulp proceeds to the automated cutter, bale press and wrapping machines, which turns out 250-kg bales that are stacked in 2,000 kg units for shipping to customers through the ports of Futong and Buatan. Just over 75% of the mill's market pulp output is shipped to other Asian countries; 18% is shipped to Europe and other nations; and, 6% stays within Indonesia.
Pulp produced from acacia is a versatile grade that can be used for a variety of end uses. "It has good softness, and is well suited for tissue production", says Dahl. And the grade has a high fiber population, which means that fewer additives are needed in paper production.
Integrated mill
The Kerinci site is an integrated mill with two modern paper machines. "We operate some of the best paper machines in the world in our Kerinci operations," Devanesan says.
Riaupaper's first paper machine started up in 1998. It is a 8.65-m wide speed former machine from Metso with a design speed of 1,500 m/min. PM 1 has a twin wire former, followed by a single shoe press, dryer, double soft calender. It produces up to 350,000 tonnes/yr of uncoated woodfree grade.
The startup of a paper machine in 1998 was an important milestone for APRIL, and it went ahead despite the Asian financial crisis. The same year saw another big step forward for APRIL: the launch of the premium PaperOneTM brand of copy paper made from 100% plantation-grown acacia.
Riaupaper's most recent startup, another 8.65-m wide machine from Metso, is an even faster Optiformer machine that came onstream in October 2006. "Within the first two years of its operation, PM 2 was ranked among the top 10 best performing paper machines in the world according to a professional independent third party assessment," says Devanesan. PM 2 has design speed of 1,600 m/min and turns out 415,000 tonnes/yr of uncoated woodfree grade. It has a twin wire former, followed by a double shoe press, dryer, and a single soft calender.
Jumbo rolls from the paper machines proceed to the finishing room. This area has six cut-size sheeters with a total monthly output of 36,000 tonnes. Cut-size production covers a wide range of paper sizes and grammages (67 g/m2, 70 g/m2, 75 g/m2, 80 g/m2, 100 g/m2) and made up about 54% of the mill's paper output in 2008.
The finishing area also turns folio sheets in a variety of basis weights on three lines. Folio sheets made up about 21% of the mill's paper output. Meanwhile the remaining 25% of paper output from the mill last year ended up in customer rolls ranging from 480 to 2200 mm in width.
Mosaic plantation
As mentioned, Kerinci is one of the world's largest pulp mills. The pulping operations are supported by extensive plantations on a total concession area of 340,000 ha.
APRIL has introduced a "mosaic" plantation concept for its concessions in Riau that involves setting aside land for high conservation value forests (on average 20% of the concession), community use and plantation forestry. The concept is successful in both conservation and commercial terms. "The rich forested mosaic is an optimum outcome for Indonesia, representing balanced, sustainable development," says Neil Franklin, sustainability director. "Plantations now stand out as a solution to preserve high conservation value forests against the base-line trajectory of land-use change."
The concession areas are made up of both traditional mineral soils and more challenging peat land areas. Development of peat land is a practical necessity. "It is important to realize that 50% of Riau is made up peat land. Dry land is already developed, so now only peat land remains for development," says Brad Sanders, sustainability head, Riaufibre.
The swampy peat land areas are planted with an acacia species that is well suited to the moist conditions. The mean annual increment (MAI) from peat soil-grown acacia crassicarpa has reached 27 m3/ha/yr, says V.V. Desai, nursery controller. That is well above the 20 m3/ha/yr that had been anticipated just a few years previously, and an excellent result for APRIL.
Meanwhile APRIL is also making steady progress in boosting the yields of its acacia mangium plantations in the more fertile mineral soil areas. Desai says that the MAI from plantation-grown acacia mangium has reached 36 to 37 m3/ha/yr.
Independent research carried out within APRIL concessions is accumulating evidence that plantations can provide a critical environmental benefit. "Peat lands (if left in their deteriorating condition) emit 60 to 200 tonnes/ha/yr of CO2. Hydrology-based plantation management, involving raised water levels and buffer zones with a target of zero impact on adjacent forests, can cut these greenhouse gas emissions by 70 to 80%," says Franklin.
Burning issue
Fire is a big hazard for commercial forestry in Riau. "Slash and burning of community land threatens nearby APRIL concessions," says Sanders. "Fire is a traditional and cheap way for poor farmers to clear land and there is no fear of prosecution on their part."
Apart from threatening plantations, fire causes carbon emissions, and a harmful haze that spreads to nearby countries. Fire is particularly hazardous to peat lands. "Drained peat land is subject to subsidence. And when it dries out, the peat can catch fire and burn for weeks," Sanders adds.
APRIL uses a three-pronged approach to alleviate the fire hazard. First, APRIL has adopted a no burn policy, and uses only mechanical means to clear land. Second, it has set up a fire prevention community development plan, to raise awareness of fire problems and teach other ways of clearing land. And third, APRIL has set up rapid response teams to detect and fight fires.
In addition, APRIL joined the FAO fire management action alliance as a founding member. "APRIL is the only forestry company in Indonesia to commit to these fire management guidelines," says Sanders.
Illegal logging is another hazard across Indonesia. APRIL is firmly opposed to all forms of illegal logging, and it carries out careful checks to keep such material out of its supply chain, sometimes at the risk of violent reaction from illegal loggers.
Poverty is the root cause behind illegal logging and APRIL has set up a range of programs that help give local people a hand up to a better standard of living. Community fiber farms make use of idle land for forestry. The integrated farming system trains local people in farming, animal husbandry and aquaculture. A small and medium-sized enterprise system gives them the skills needed for running a small business. And a social and infrastructure support system provides education and health services.
Building a sustainable future
APRIL's approach to sustainability is defined by social and environmental balance, and geared towards ensuring stable operating conditions and long-term business value creation. Global concerns are an increasingly important component of this sustainability strategy.
Related to global warming and climate change, APRIL is playing its part in reducing CO2 emissions. "APRIL takes a cradle to gate approach to its carbon footprint. The plantations absorb 15 million tonnes/yr of carbon dioxide, and the mill transfers three million tonnes/yr of CO2 in products," says Franklin. "Companies can't ignore climate change. But the challenge is turning these ‘carbon constraints' into a business opportunity. APRIL is well positioned in that respect," he adds.
APRIL is proactive internationally on corporate sustainability. "We have led the industry in being the only Indonesian member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development," says Devanesan. The WBCSD is a CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies that provides business leadership in sustainable development.
Sustainability is also part of meeting customers' strict environmental and social expectations. "The naïve view that people abandon environmental concerns during times of economic crises has this year been proved false," says Franklin. "On the contrary, customers - demanding tissuemakers for example - are being even more selective in times of contracting supply".
Gloom busters
APRIL is not immune to the global financial crisis (GFC). Devanesan acknowledges that pulp and paper consumption will be hampered by "the liquidity crunch, as lenders tighten credit lines".
But Devanesan breaks ranks with the pessimists. "The impact of the GFC has been somewhat mitigated by the few remaining markets with growth prospects, like China, India and Indonesia".
He sees good prospects in the region: "Looking ahead, we remain optimistic that the key growth areas for pulp and paper are in Asia, namely the Chinese, Indian and Indonesian markets."
There is good cause for Devanesan to be optimistic. APRIL is "well positioned to capture opportunities in the key growth markets", he says, given that 80% of the company's demand comes from Asia. He goes on to say that Indonesia recovered from past difficulties, and believes it will do so again: "As with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Indonesian economy will prove to be resilient, and APRIL will emerge stronger and better than before".
APRIL will emerge as a larger player as well. In China, APRIL will start up a paper machine at Xinhui in Guangdong by mid-2011, Devanesan states. Meanwhile further north, the group is adding one million tonnes of pulping capacity at its SSYMB mill in Rizhao, in Shandong.
APRIL is not only a leading pulp and paper producer that is well positioned for future growth, but it is an acknowledged leader in promoting sustainable development as well. And sustainability makes good business sense, because it's about stability, long-term vision, and fulfilling demands of consumers and society. "Companies with a strong sustainability strategy are best placed for survival," Franklin.
Rob Ryan is a freelance writer with many years' experience covering the first products industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPI and is based in Australia.
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