Helsinki, Finland, 19 September 2008 -- Metso will supply a new cooking plant and brown-stock washing equipment for bagasse-based mill Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd., situated in the province of Tamil Nadu in India. The modernized brown stock process, which will replace two minor existing brown stock lines, will be operation in early 2010. The value of the order is close to EUR 14 million and it will be included in Metso Paper´s orders received.

Metso's scope of delivery comprises cooking, screening, washing based on press technology, and an oxygen delignification stage. The order also includes basic engineering, field instruments, and erection and start-up supervision services.

The new brown stock process will have a daily design capacity of 600 oven dry metric tons and will supply pulp to the bleaching process newly supplied and taken into operation by Metso.

The target of the investment is to improve the pulp quality and to minimize the environmental impact by reducing water consumption, use of chemicals, and emissions outflow.

The entire fiber line, including the brown stock and bleaching processes, will be the world’s largest single line for bagasse.

Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd. produces newsprint and printing and writing papers using hardwood and bagasse as the primary raw materials. The mill has India's largest production capacity at a single location.

Metso is a global engineering and technology corporation with 2007 net sales of more than EUR 6 billion. The company has more than 27,000 employees in approximately 50 countries who serve customers in the pulp and paper industry, rock and minerals processing, the energy industry, and selected other industries.

www.metso.com