The goal of the MA-1100 expansion project in Klabin’s Monte Alegre Plant is to raise production capacity of packaging papers in the mill from 700 thousand tons/year to 1.1 million tons/year.
When the project is concluded, Klabin will have a production capacity in cartonboard of 740 thousand tons/year – including the production of the Angatuba Plant (SP) – practically doubling production.
The expansion will make the company more competitive externally, bringing its total production of packaging paper up to 2 million tons per year.
The project will give the mill much greater operational safety, with the installation of new boilers (recovery and power), a new turbo-generator, a new lime kiln and a new CTMP (Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp) plant.
The focus on cartonboard has occurred because it is a higher value-added product, increasing the overall price mix of the company’s products. This investment in the plant can bring fresh impetus to exports from the Brazilian sector, with products of higher technology and increased value.
Klabin boards already bring innovation to the market with their mixture of long (pine) and short (eucalyptus) fibers, by combining the best properties of both: strength and printability.
With this project, Klabin, which is the biggest Brazilian paper exporter shipping to over 50 countries, intends to raise the share of exports to 35% of the company revenue.
Principal suppliers
The principal suppliers to Project MA-1100 and their responsibilities are:
- Metso Paper - wood yard, expansion of bleaching and fiber washing system and ink kitchen for board coating
- Andritz - installation of eucalyptus fiber production line for the CTMP (Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp) process
- Voith Paper - will supply the new paper machine
- CBC - will supply the new recovery boiler
- Babcock Power Espanha - responsible for the new Power Boiler
- Kvaerner - rebuild of the digestor, evaporation, causticizing and the new lime kiln
- ABB - automation and distribution system for energy
- Siemens/ CNEC - will supply the turbo-generator
- Centroprojekt - expansion of the Effluent Treatment Station
- Enfil - water treatment for the new boilers
Imported components of the project will represent about 25% of the total investment, meaning that Klabin will make a significant contribution to the development of the country’s machinery industry.
New machinery
To complete the plant’s expansion a new state-of-the-art paper machine will be acquired, 250 meters in length and with a web width of 7.20 meters, thus increasing total cartonboard production from 330 thousand tons/year to 680 thousand tons /year. The project also provides for the installation of a eucalyptus fiber production line for the CTMP (Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp) process, the largest in Brazil, with 140 thousand tons a year capacity. Besides these, there will be a new co-generation plant for steam and energy run on biofuel.
The new biofuel boiler, with a capacity of 250 tons of steam/hour, will enable fuel oil consumption to be reduced by 20 thousand tons per year and so will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The boiler will run at 500ºC and 100 bar pressure, and with this set-up will be the most efficient co-generation plant in the pulp and paper sector in Brazil. It is also planned to reduce the levels of water consumption and solid and liquid wastes.
As well as expanding production capacity, Klabin intends to increase the use of eucalyptus fiber in the production process, which will lead to more competitive boards on international markets, in both quality and cost.