OREANDA-NEWS. September 25, 2009. A state-of-the-art neutral sulfite semi-chemical pulp (NSSC) plant was officially opened by Ilim Group in Koryazhma, Arkhangelsk Oblast. It is the world's largest plant manufacturing this product type.

Speaking at the opening of the plant, Mr. Paul Herbert, Chief Executive Officer of Ilim Group, said: "Our new plant in Koryazhma is an example of our efficient cooperation with the local government. It is also the best NSSC plant in the world. While working on this project, we were convinced that the plant must have only cutting-edge equipment. For us, the use of the advanced technologies means solid prospects of company development, reduction of the environmental impact, better working conditions and improved employee skills."

"It is very significant that Ilim Group implements its technological upgrade and reform plans regardless of the recession, keeping its previously announced projects perfectly in line with the approved schedules," said Iliya Mikhalchuk, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. "Softwood fiber is used in the NSSC manufacturing process. The Arkhangelsk Oblast has sufficient forest resources to provide the plant with wood and is willing to allocate additional timberland to the Company."

Construction of the new plant was a priority investment for the Company projects, and over RUR 1.7 billion was invested to implement it. Capacity of the new plant is 900 tons of NSSC per day, or 310,000 tons per year.

Implementation of this project is an important step towards development of the core production and the infrastructure at the Koryazhma Branch of Ilim Group. The startup of the new NSSC pulp plant increases the availability of high quality fiber used in the manufacture of containerboards, while at same time consuming less wood per ton of pulp then conventional pulping Construction of the plant allows to cut the manufacturing costs of quality board and raises production output by more than 40,000 tons per year.

The plant employs the most cutting-edge technologies, enabling it to reduce pollutant discharges by 15-20%.

Production lines are state-of-the-art and fully automated. The process was designed by Metso Paper Sundsvall AB. Austrian-made equipment by Honeywell is used for process control.