HELSINKI,
May 23, 2011
(Press Release) -
Metso, a global supplier of industry technology, will provide a new batch cooking plant to Horizon Pulp & Paper's (Horizon) Kehra mill in Estonia, as a part of the Estonian sack kraft €120m investment program. The new cooking plant will be operational at the end of 2011.
New technology will enhance Horizon's pulp capacity by more than 50 percent, from 210 to 350 tonnes per day; reduce the mill's energy consumption by 25 percent and water consumption by 1.3 million cubic metres annually. The mill's CO2 emissions will be cut by 35 percent, equalling 5,000 cars running 25,000 km a year each," Ashwani Sharma, CEO of Horizon, highlighted the benefits of the new technology.
Sharma added that the project will also enable Horizon Pulp & Paper to make energy savings worth approximately €2.5m annually.
The cooking plant supplied by Metso is only one part of the ongoing investment program of Horizon. "We expect in two years to increase Horizon's paper capacity from 70,000 tonnes annually to 115,000 tonnes, with our three current machines being replaced by a single, top quality, cost and energy-efficient paper machine", Sharma explained the company's €120m investment program for the coming years.
Horizon is Estonia's only sack craft producer that exports to 50 countries around the globe. Fully owned by Singaporean global company Tolaram Group, it possesses substantially modernised production facilities with a total investment of approximately €70m in last ten years. Since 1995 when Tolaram Group acquired the mill it has invested significantly in achieving better standards in quality, efficiency and environmental protection.
In 2010, Horizon Pulp & Paper recorded sales of €52 million and net profit of €8.6m resulting in a net profit margin of 16.5 percent. Upbeat sales of the company continued in the first quarter of 2011 with a record net profit margin of 25 percent.
Metso, headquartered in Finland, is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. The company has about 28,500 employees in more than 50 countries.
