IKBK to invest in new PMs and CTMP plant

BRUSSELS, Feb. 8, 2008 (RISI) - Ilisky Paper-Board Plant (IKBK) has revealed further details about its plan to purchase a new tissue machine next year.

The unit will have a capacity of some 35,700 tonnes/yr and use virgin pulp. A supplier has not yet been settled on. The machine will be installed at the firm’s mill in Boraldy, Kazakhstan, which currently produces some 20,000 tonnes/yr of coated recycled board on its PM 1.

A second machine, PM 3, is in the process of being installed at the site. Once conversion work on the former newsprint unit has been completed, it will produce some 71,000 tonnes/yr of offset and copy paper, also from virgin pulp.

IKBK is also planning a new 150,000 tonne/yr chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP) plant in the northeast of Kazakhstan, a location chosen for its easy wood accessibility. The facility will also house a 150,000 tonne/yr newsprint PM. A business plan for the project has been submitted to its investor, the Kazakhstan Development Bank. IKBK is currently mulling over potential equipment suppliers, including Metso Paper and Andritz. A final decision will be taken later this year.

As a longer-term project, the firm is also considering investing in a second board machine. However, due to a shortage of recovered paper in Kazakhstan, IKBK is currently focusing on developing projects involving the use of pulp as raw material. Both Russian and western European pulp suppliers are being considered.

Important 2008 Conference Date Changes!

PPI Market Pulp will now take place April 6-7, 2008. The RISI European Conference will be held April 7-9. Both events remain in Lisbon, Portugal.