$20m upgrade for Karioi mill

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 404, 21 July 1992, Page 1

$20m upgrade for Karioi mill

Twenty million dollars is to be spent on the Karioi pulp mill in the next 18 months to improve the quality of pulp and productivity of the mill. The development programme was approved by the Winstone Pulp International board of directors last week. The company aims to have the upgrade completed by the end of 1993. Included in the plan is an increased capacity by 10,000 tonnes of pulp annually to 135,000 tonnes. But the main focus will be on changes to the production process to the pulp manufactur'e, which at present uses chemical, thermal and mechanical treatment to produce high consistency bleached pulp. The bulk of the bleached and unbleached pulp the mill produces at present is exported

to markets in Indonesia, China and Taiwan for paper and paper board production. The upgrade will see the pulp bleaching and washing process enhanced. "Winstone have established a reputation as a leader in chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp technology, as one of the first companies in the world to use this technology," said general manager Dave Anderson. He said Karioi was the first mill to operate high consistency bleaching. Also part of the project will be the upgrading of the mill's effluent treatment system, to ensure the mill operates within the tougher Resource Management Act standards which are now law. Winstone' s general manager Dave

Anderson said last week that the board had the confidence to go ahead with the project because of the mill's performance over recent years. Although the global pulp market has been depressed in the last two years Karioi has been at full capacity, with all its pulp produced on consignment. Last year's pulp production was 116,000 tonnes, worth about $85 million. Earlier this year Mr Anderson and Winstone Pulp International board chairman Klas Kronkvist visited Sweden to look at second-hand pulp production machinery, which had become available. The board was investigating a possible expansion at that time, but decided against it because of limitations of wood supply to the mill.