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Buckeye Evaluates Expanding Specialy Pulp Capacity
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Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 28 April 2011 -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) today announced that its board of directors has approved funding for a comprehensive evaluation of the potential of the company's Florida mill to further increase its high-purity specialty wood pulp capacity.

Buckeye's high-end specialty wood pulp grades include ethers, high strength viscose, filtration, and acetate, which are used to produce food and pharmaceutical products, food casings, tire cord, filtration media, and acetate tow. The global demand for these products is growing and Buckeye has a proven history of producing these technically demanding grades. Buckeye's specialty wood pulp production continues to be sold out and this potential expansion would help meet growing customer demand in these high-end applications.

"Currently, the lead option in this evaluation is to increase our Florida mill's high-end specialty capacity by 30,000 metric tons, with a target startup date at the end of 2012," said John Crowe, Buckeye's chairman and chief executive officer. "The overall capacity of the mill would remain at its current 465,000 ton per year level, but the mix of high-end specialty production would increase. In addition to the mix improvements, we plan to further enhance the performance attributes of the fluff pulp produced at our mill. We expect this project would generate returns significantly above our cost of capital. We believe this option could provide excellent value to our customers and our shareholders. We intend to complete our evaluation and make a final decision on the potential expansion in August 2011."

 

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