SHANDONG, China, Dec. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- At 15.53 p.m. November 25, the first professional super calendar paper (SC paper) production line in China successfully produced its first sheets of paper, indicating the successful start-up of the joint venture of Stora Enso Huatai Paper. The project achieved a great success only 15 months after the start of the project, 2.5 months faster than the planned target.
That the project was accomplished so quickly and with such solid quality represents the strong power of the combination of these two giant companies. Stora Enso has decades of experience in producing SC paper. From day one of the JV project, Stora Enso brought a specialist team with sophisticated know-how and experience, which is the foundation of the success. And Huatai Group has been a strong partner, providing vital project experience in China to secure the success of the project. The new project is located in Huatai Industrial Park, where the world's largest newsprint production is based, providing the benefit of abundant resources including human resources, financial resources and facilities. Additionally, the full support by the both companies' top management as well as the local authorities is a key factor to the success of the project. Thanks to all these advantages, Stora Enso Huatai Paper made its first solid step as an unstoppable force.
"We've been under immensely high pressure during the whole project phase, due to the fact that this would be the project built in the shortest time within the Stora Enso group, and our marketing people insisted on getting the first paper before the end of 2007, due to the expected Olympic Games business next year," commented Hermann Mahlert, head of the corporate project team. "Now the most important milestone is reached. To be honest, at the very beginning I wasn't convinced that we would make it in November, but everybody in the team has done their utmost in the last days and weeks. The atmosphere has been fantastic, and it has been a great experience to work with this multi-cultural team."
Super Calendar Paper is an uncoated magazine paper combining best printability with reliable runnability. Stora Enso's SC paper brands including EnviPress are now widely used in Europe and North American with a strong growth trend. EnviPress is for high quality and big volume graphical end-uses, such as retailing chains' advertising material, newspaper inserts, TV guide, mass circulation magazines, catalogues, mail order material, supplements, and gift-wrapping paper. In the China market, Stora Enso has registered a Chinese name to EnviPress as Yue Yin (TM). SC paper has been widely used in the worldwide market over 50 years, and the estimated consumption in 2007 is over 7.3 million tons. China, as a rapidly growing market in the paper industry, will not only increase its paper consumption, but will also need more specific paper grades. EnviPress, thanks to its great advantages compared to other paper grades, will meet printing demand and provide strong competitiveness to the customer. We strongly believe the start-up of the first professional SC paper line will boost a new development in the Chinese paper industry.
About the Company
Stora Enso Huatai (Shandong) Paper Co., Ltd. was established in April 2006, is the joint venture of Stora Enso Group and Shandong Huatai Paper Co. Ltd., located in Dongying, Shandong Province. SEHT will produce world-class SC-paper with a yearly capacity of 200,000 tons.
Stora Enso is an integrated paper, packaging and forest-based product company producing newsprint, magazine paper, fine paper, consumer board, industrial packaging and wood products. Stora Enso's sales totalled EUR 14.6 billion in 2006. The Group has some 44 000 employees in more than 40 countries on five continents. Stora Enso has an annual production capacity of 16.5 million tonnes of paper and board and 7.4 million cubic metres of sawn wood products, including 3.2 million cubic metres of value-added products. Stora Enso's shares are listed in Helsinki, Stockholm and New York. Stora Enso is committed to sustainability. Economic, environmental, and social responsibility underpins our thinking and our approach to every aspect of doing business.
Huatai Group is a large, state-owned enterprise with multiple functions, such as chemical, printing, thermal power supply, forestry, logistics, and business services, but specializing in paper making. Huatai is the No. 3 of the top 500 large enterprise groups in China. After the newly established PM12 with a capacity of 450,000 tons per annum, Huatai achieved a total newsprint capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year, or 1/3 of the market share in China, and became the largest newsprint production base in the world.
