Espoo, Finland 19 December 2018 -- Valmet and ARAUCO have finalized the contract to deliver pulp drying and baling, recovery boiler and biomass boiler for ARAUCO's MAPA project. The delivery is part of ARAUCO's major investment to expand current production capacity and build a new pulp production line at the Arauco Mill in the Bio Bío Region, Chile. A letter of award was signed and published in early October.

The order is included in Valmet's fourth quarter of 2018 orders received. The value of the order will not be disclosed. However, a project of this size and scope is typically valued at EUR 250-300 million.

One of the largest pulp investments in the world

The modernization and extension of Arauco Mill involves a USD 2,350 million investment, which makes it the largest investment in ARAUCO's history and one of the largest pulp investments in the world. The project includes the construction of a new production line, line 3, with an annual capacity of 1,560,000 tons. The new line is estimated to start operation in 2021.

"In addition to high quality pulp, the expansion project allows us to continue generating clean and renewable energy from forest biomass, due to the construction of a new biomass boiler. The boiler supplies clean energy to the mill and the surplus electricity will be delivered to the National Electrical Grid," explains Franco Bozzalla, Senior VP Pulp and Energy, ARAUCO.

"We have had good cooperation with ARAUCO for over 15 years, and we are happy to deliver key technology for the company's state-of-the art pulp mill. This delivery is significant also for our project and technology teams globally. The project is lead from Finland and key components are produced in our own workshops. The employment impact in Finland is close to 300 man-years," says Bertel Karlstedt, Business Line President, Pulp and Energy, Valmet.

Information about Valmet's delivery

Valmet's delivery represents the latest and most modern pulp and energy production technologies designed for productivity with reduced chemical, water, and steam consumption. The proven technology provides high reliability, safe operation and environmental performance.

The pulp drying line will have a daily capacity of 5,000 air dry tons (Adt) and consist of two complete drying machines, including four high capacity baling lines. The pulp drying machines are designed for high availability with production capacity of 2,500 tons/day and a web width of 8 meters for each machine, with a possibility for future capacity increase through debottlenecking.

The pulp drying line includes advanced process control and bale management systems, which allow high quality production continuously. The drying line also includes low energy and heat consumption technologies, contributing to a lower operational cost and minimum environmental impact.

The tailored boiler island consists of a recovery boiler with a daily capacity of 6,300 tons dry solids (tDS) and a fluidized bed power boiler with 160 MW thermal capacity. Valmet also delivers the mill-wide NCG (non-condensable gases) collection and handling solution.

The recovery boiler features Valmet's advanced high-power features, enabling maximum energy efficiency and high electricity production, and smelt spout cleaning robot for improved safety and operator friendliness. The power boiler is tailored to burn local biomass, such as eucalyptus bark, sawdust, shavings and residues as well as sludge. Both boilers are equipped with Valmet's ESPs (electrostatic precipitators) for excellent dust particle removal from flue gases.

Information about the customer ARAUCO

ARAUCO is a global forest product company. The company operates in the forestry, pulp, lumber, plywood, composite panels, millwork, and renewable energy businesses. The company has a revenue of about USD 5 billion. The company operates altogether 42 sawmills, panel mills and pulp mills in North America, South America, Europe and South Africa.

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2017 were approximately EUR 3.1 billion. Our more than 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.