Altri makes progress with investment plans at Portuguese mills

By Michael Dixon, Editor, PPI This Week, RISI

BRUSSELS, Nov. 28, 2008 (RISI) - Altri is forging ahead with its investment plans at the Celbi and Celtejo pulp plants in Portugal. Both projects are running on schedule and on budget.

The company completed the first phase of the expansion of its Celbi bleached eucalyptus kraft market pulp mill in Figueira da Foz during the third quarter.

The facility was shut down for one month in September to allow the installation of washing, screening and oxygen delignification equipment, a bleach plant, and dryer a rebuild of the digester. The firm is currently carrying out test runs on the wood preparation plant.

The second phase of the project includes the installation of a new recovery boiler and evaporation plant. Altri hopes to wrap up the work in May. Suppliers for the Euro 320 million ($400 million) scheme include Metso, Andritz and GL&V.

The project will double the plant's capacity from 300,000 tonnes/yr to 600,000 tonnes/yr, not 550,000 tonnes/yr as initially planned.

Meanwhile, Altri brought a new bleaching line on stream at the Celtejo pulp mill, located in Vila Velha de Rodao, during the second quarter.

Following the investment, the mill's output was switched from unbleached softwood kraft pulp to bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp. The plant can also produce bleached softwood kraft pulp, but the company is concentrating on eucalyptus for the time being. The facility's capacity has increased from 140,000 tonnes/yr to 180,000-190,000 tonnes/yr.

The Celtejo plant used to feed CPK, Altri's 60,000 tonne/yr sack kraft paper mill in Cacia, with 60,000 tonnes/yr of unbleached softwood kraft pulp. CPK is currently using the remaining inventories from Celtejo to produce sack kraft paper. The company will buy pulp from the market going forward as all of Celtejo's bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp output will be sold onto the market.