Metso Paper to supply a new fiber line to West Coast Paper, India

Published Nov 21, 2006 15.00.00 +2 GMT

Metso Paper will supply a new fiber line to an Indian customer – The West Coast Paper Mills Ltd. The integrated pulp and paper mill is located at Dandeli in Karnataka state in southern India. The new fiberline project is the first step in a plan to increase the company’s paper production and enhance pulp capacity and quality. The value of the order is close to EUR 25 million. The line is scheduled to start up during the second half of 2008.

The new fiber line is designed for a daily capacity of 725 odt (oven dry tonnes) of fully bleached pulp. The line will be the largest single pulp mill fiber line in India. The scope of Metso Paper’s delivery comprises SuperBatch cooking, knotting and screening, oxygen delignification and ECF (elemental chlorine-free) bleaching. Twin Roll wash presses will be installed at each stage of washing of both brown stock and bleached pulps.

Metso Paper also earlier supplied pulping equipment for The West Coast Paper Mill’s existing fiberline in Dandeli. This line has a daily design production of approximately 350 tonnes of pulp. The company presently has five paper machines at the mill, with an annual total capacity of approximately 180,000 tonnes. Simultaneously with the pulp capacity expansion, the mill is also adding one paper machine – the PM VI – for installation to take the overall production of the mill to approx. 320,000 metric tonnes per year.

The West Coast Paper Mills Ltd. belongs to the S.K. Bangur Group, which has interests in paper, cables, chemicals, tea, coffee and rubber. Today, the Group's net sales are approximately INR 10,000 million (over EUR 170 million). The West Coast Paper Mills manufactures writing, printing, wrapping and packaging papers.

Metso is a global engineering and technology corporation with 2005 net sales of approximately EUR 4.2 billion. Its 22,000 employees in more than 50 countries serve customers in the pulp and paper industry, rock and minerals processing, the energy industry and selected other industries. www.metso.com

For further information, please contact:

N. K. Jain, Vice President, Fiber Business Line, India Tel. +91 124 235 1541, nk.jain@metso.com

Yngve Lundahl, Regional Sales Manager, Fiber Business Line, Sweden Tel. +46 60 16 51 77, yngve.lundahl@metso.com