CMPC kicks off new Santa Fe 1.126 million tonnes/yr BEK pulp line 2 in Chile

By Fernanda Belchior, Senior News Editor, PPI Latin America, RISI

SAO PAULO, Dec. 14, 2011 (RISI) - Empresas CMPC yesterday restarted its Santa Fe bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) pulp line 2 which increases capacity from 940,000 tonnes/yr to 1.126 million tonnes/yr. Located in the Región del Bio Bío of Chile, Santa Fe pulp line 2 had a production cut of 80,000 tonnes during its 30-day shutdown which began in mid-November.

Empresas CMPC invested $155 million in the Santa Fe expansion increasing its overall capacity from 1.34 million tonnes/yr to 1.5 million tonnes/yr of BEK on two lines.

"We've successfully completed the overall debottlenecking process of this line including its fiber line, among other areas," the company's general secretary Gonzalo García told RISI. The expansion project was initiated in early 2010.