Kemira to increase calcium sulphate pigment production

KEMIRA TO INCREASE CALCIUM SULPHATE PIGMENT PRODUCTION AT SIILINJÄRVI PLANT IN FINLAND


Kemira will invest EUR 3.5 million in an expansion at its Siilinjärvi pigment plant. The new calcium sulphate pigment production line will raise the total capacity up to 80,000 tons. This investment will also enable the production of a new extremely bright pigment grade. The production line will operate fully by the beginning of 2002. Calcium sulphate pigment is a unique product in the world market and the production technology has been developed by Kemira.

Calcium sulphate pigment - CoCoat as a trade name - is used for coating printing paper in order to improve brightness, opacity and printability. Calcium sulphate also facilitates the production of lighter paper, as it has a lower density than other pigments.

The relative proportion of pigments in paper continues to grow as paper becomes increasingly refined. The annual worldwide growth rate for paper pigments is expected to be 3% over the next ten years.

Pulp & Paper Chemicals is one of the core business areas of Kemira. In addition to coating pigments, Kemira offers its pulp & paper customers a wide variety of products and services from bleaching to wet end chemistry. The net sales of Pulp & Paper Chemicals totalled EUR 372 million in 2000, and its operations are worldwide.


For more information, please contact:

Kemira Chemicals Oy
Mikael Kvist, Tel. +358 (0)10 862 7210
Business Development Manager,
Kari Lehtinen, Tel. +358 (0)10 862 1616
Development Manager