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Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd (TNPL), based in Pugalur, southern India, started trial production of newsprint and printing and writing paper on its new No 2 paper machine in September 1995 and was expecting first commercial production in January 1996. The expansion, which doubled capacity at the mill to 180,000 tpy, makes TNPL the largest single-site integrated mill in the world using bagasse as its main raw material.
The Rs 5.85 billion (about US$170 million) project was completed well ahead of schedule and with a capital cost of Rs 65,000 per annual tonne, estimated at only 65% of what a similar plant would cost to build now.
With its first machine, which started up almost exactly 10 years before PM2, TNPL has made its presence felt in the Indian printing world by producing a wide range of printing and writing paper, such as creamwove for text books, computer stationery, paper for telephone directories and yellow pages as well as newsprint, including pink newsprint. Growing demand and its good track record and profitability (see boxed item) were behind its decision to go ahead with the second machine.
The company was also encouraged by the availability and relatively low cost of bagasse in the area. TNPL already had long-term agreements with five sugar mills located within a radius of 5-120 km which supply bagasse in return for steam from high-pressure boilers. When it was planning the expansion, TNPL tied up with two more sugar mills to ensure up to 800,000 tonnes of fiber for the second phase. High-pressure boilers are being installed at these new sugar mill sites.
In the past five years, the cost of bagasse has increased by only 2.5%, while the price of domestic wood has gone up 12.5%, that of imported wood by 17.8%.
LAYOUT OF A LEADER
After the expansion, the plan is for PM1 to produce mainly printing and writing papers from a furnish of 75% chemical bagasse and 25% chemical hardwood pulp. PM2 will make newsprint from 60% chemical bagasse pulp and 40% mechanical bagasse pulp, ie, 100% from bagasse, according to projects and plant operations...