2021 Packaging Paper Project Roundup: Over 6 Million Tonnes Added as Expansion Extends Into 2022

After China's paper industry added 7 million tonnes of capacity and laid out 46 million tonnes of planned capacity in 2020, 2021 became another standout year. Paper prices climbed steadily and mills enjoyed strong profits, while brisk exports and the nationwide plastic ban and restriction trend sharply lifted market confidence.

At the same time, papermakers launched new projects in quick succession, with investments often reaching tens of billions of yuan, a scale rarely seen worldwide. After market demand had long plateaued at 100 million tonnes, a wave of new papermaking capacity arrived, as if ushering in another golden 30 years.

According to incomplete statistics, the paper industry added more than 6 million tonnes of packaging paper capacity in 2021, and more projects are set to come online in 2022.

Below is a review of packaging paper projects newly commissioned in 2021:

Sun Paper's 800,000-tonne-per-year high-grade packaging paper PM2 in Laos starts up

On January 10, 2021, the PM2 line of Sun Paper's 800,000-tonne-per-year high-grade packaging paper project in Laos started up and produced paper successfully. PM2 came online just one month after PM1, which had started up on December 11, 2020.

Guizhou's largest packaging paper mill fully commissions first-phase 600,000-tonne project

On January 26, PM2 at Guizhou Pengsheng (Group) Paper Co., Ltd. produced paper smoothly, marking full commissioning of the first-phase 600,000-tonne-per-year packaging paper project.

Kadant supplies pulping equipment for Shanying Paper Thailand's Jinhe 4800 pulp board line, which starts up

On May 10, 2021, the 400,000-tonne-per-year pulping equipment and approach flow system supplied by Kadant for Shanying Paper Thailand's Jinhe 4800 pulp board line were successfully commissioned. Located at the company's base in Prachinburi Province, Thailand, the line is a recycled fiber pulp board machine using imported American waste paper as raw material, carrying major significance for the global waste paper pulp board market.

Guangdong Lingyu Environmental Paper's 150,000-tonne coated white board paper project starts up

Recently, the coated white board paper project of Guangdong Lingyu Environmental Paper Technology Co., Ltd., established in May 2020, started up and produced paper smoothly. The main paper machine and some supporting pulp line equipment were a second-hand coated white board paper machine purchased from Fuyang.

Stora Enso's new-generation food-grade pulp molding project officially starts production in China

On June 8, 2021, Stora Enso China Packaging announced that the first phase of its new-generation food-grade pulp molding project in Qian'an, Hebei, had officially started up. It will produce new-generation eco-friendly, high-quality pulp tableware such as food containers and cup lids at scale. The move marks the formal entry of Stora Enso's pulp molding business into food packaging and will help the food and catering sector accelerate its shift toward a greener circular economy.

Datong Guansen Paper Co., Ltd.'s first packaging paper machine starts up

On June 8, the first industrial paper project (PM1) of Datong Guansen Paper Co., Ltd. started up and produced paper smoothly. The main equipment is a second-hand linerboard machine bought from a paper mill in Fuyang. With a width of 3600mm and a design speed of 450 m/min, it uses 100% waste paper to make low-grammage high-strength corrugating medium, with annual capacity of about 70,000 tonnes.

Jiangsu Fantai Paper Co., Ltd.'s 200,000-tonne high-strength corrugating medium project goes into production

At 2:06 on June 11, the new line successfully wound its first reel. The machine, supplied by Henan Zhongya Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., has a net paper width of 5200mm and a design speed of 650 m/min. It uses 100% waste paper to produce low-grammage high-strength corrugating medium, with annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes.

ANDRITZ to supply four coaters to Jiangxi Wuxing Paper

On June 14, ANDRITZ supplied four Prime Coat Jet on-machine coaters to the plant in Hukou County, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, with commissioning planned for 2021. The four coaters will serve a white board paper machine line with a maximum design speed of 1000 m/min and a maximum reel width of 5660mm.

Henan Xinxiang Hongtai Paper Co., Ltd.'s white board paper project starts up

On July 13, the white board paper project of Henan Xinxiang Hongtai Paper Co., Ltd. started up and produced paper smoothly. The project uses a multi-fourdrinier multi-cylinder machine with a net paper width of 4600mm and a design speed of 600 m/min. It mainly uses waste paper to make 250-450 gsm coated white board paper, with annual capacity exceeding 200,000 tonnes.

Sun Paper: new 550,000-tonne-per-year printing and writing paper at Guangxi base

The new projects at the Guangxi base include a 550,000-tonne-per-year printing and writing paper project, a 120,000-tonne-per-year household paper project, and supporting 800,000-tonne-per-year chemical wood pulp and 200,000-tonne-per-year chemi-mechanical pulp projects. The 550,000-tonne-per-year printing and writing paper project was successfully commissioned on September 26, 2021.

Jiangsu Jintian Paper: two paper machines successfully commissioned within half a month

Jiangsu Jintian Paper Co., Ltd. in Xiangshui, Yancheng, the largest recycled paper producer under construction in Jiangsu Province, saw two first-phase grey board paper lines start up and produce paper smoothly.

It is understood that since the third quarter, Jiangsu Jintian Paper, together with main equipment supplier Hangzhou Beichen Light Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. and other companies, overcame unfavorable factors such as power rationing and pandemic resurgences. On October 20, PM16, the first paper production line of the first-phase project, was successfully commissioned and produced paper immediately upon startup.

Jiangsu Jintian Paper Co., Ltd.'s PM17 starts up

On November 1, PM17, another line in the first phase of Jiangsu Jintian Paper Co., Ltd., started up successfully and produced paper smoothly; its first machine, PM16, had started up on the 20th of the previous month. PM17 and PM16 are right-hand and left-hand machines in the same workshop. Their line equipment was also supplied by Hangzhou Beichen Light Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. With a net paper width of 4800mm and a design speed of 450 m/min, the machine mainly produces 300-650 gsm grey board paper, with designed capacity of 350,000 tonnes per year.

Shandong Fengshuo Paper Co., Ltd.'s coated white board paper technical upgrade project starts up

On November 4, the coated white board paper technical upgrade project of Shandong Fengshuo Paper Co., Ltd. started up and produced paper smoothly. The machine has a net paper width of 3400mm and a design speed of 700 m/min. Its press section uses a domestically made shoe press, and it uses 100% waste paper pulp with on-machine coating to produce 200-450 gsm coated white board paper, with annual capacity exceeding 200,000 tonnes.

Guangxi Sun Paper's 900,000-tonne folding boxboard line produces paper smoothly

At around 9 a.m. on December 4, 2021, the 900,000-tonne-per-year folding boxboard line, the third paper machine at Sun Paper's Guangxi base, produced paper smoothly.

The machine was supplied by Germany's Voith. It has a width of 8.8 metres and a design speed of 1300 m/min, and is currently running at about 800 m/min. In China, such machines typically reach annual capacity of around 1 million tonnes once they achieve design speed.

Guangxi Jingui Phase II's 900,000-tonne folding boxboard capacity nears production

On December 3, after more than 600 Chinese and foreign technical personnel carried out 10 days of round-the-clock equipment commissioning, the first paper machine of the closely watched 1.8-million-tonne-per-year high-grade paperboard expansion project of Jingui Phase II successfully completed the full process flow.

The first paper machine of the 1.8-million-tonne-per-year high-grade paperboard expansion project of Jingui Phase II was introduced from Finland's Valmet, a globally renowned pulp and papermaking supplier. It has a net paper width of 8.1 metres, a design speed of 1450 m/min and capacity of 900,000 tonnes per year; once completed and commissioned, it will be one of the widest and fastest coated board machines in the world.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378800.html