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Sappi commissions R7.7 billion Saiccor Mill expansion and upgrade

A mammoth R7.7 billion expansion and environmental upgrade project at the Sappi Saiccor mill was officially opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal yesterday.

The project was first officially announced at the Presidential Investment Conference in 2018. The project would strengthen the country’s role as a global supplier of Lyocell, the fibre of the future for sustainable textiles.

Sappi Global Board Chairman Sir Nigel Rudd said: “The board believes that the South African forestry industry is globally competitive and can make further substantial contributions to the South African economy. This investment reflects our confidence in our South African operations.”

CEO Steve Binnie said there was growing global demand for renewable textiles derived from sustainable wood fibre. Sappi supplies over 50 percent of the world’s Lyocell demand, the next generation textile material made from cellulosic fibres.

The expansion project meets customer demand for greater DP production and Lyocell, and reduces the mill’s environmental footprint, while also generating an additional R1 billion a year in direct benefit to the KwaZulu-Natal economy, said Binnie.

The Saiccor mill, acquired by Sappi in 1989, established Sappi’s global reach into the international dissolving pulp (DP) markets. Since then, the mill has undergone three expansion projects to keep pace with global demand.

Branded as “Verve”, almost all of the DP produced at the mill is sold globally into the Viscose Staple Fibres markets for use in textiles and clothing for leading brands.

Alex Thiel, CEO of Sappi Southern Africa, said the installation of the largest sulphite recovery boiler in the world and the conversion of the calcium cooking line to the more sustainable magnesium bisulphite technology, reduced the need for coal-based power generation at the mill, leading to a significant reduction in fossil fuel energy requirements and increasing the mill’s renewable energy usage, additionally realising considerable variable cost savings.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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Sappi commissions R7.7 billion Saiccor Mill expansion and upgrade

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