CHINA

ZHEJIANG ZHONGSHUN STARTS UP FIRST OF 15 TMs
(NEWS CONTRIBUTED BY RISI)

Zhejiang Zhongshun Paper has started up the first tissue machine at its greenfield mill in Jiaxing city, in China’s Zhejiang province.

The unit, a 10,000 ton/yr BF-10 type PM supplied by Kawanoe Zoki of Japan, came on stream on 18 June. It has a width of 2.66 m and a design speed of 800 m/min. The company, a subsidiary of Guangdong Zhongshun Paper, plans to install a total of 15 tissue machines at the 10-ha plant, which is located in the port zone of Jiaxing.

Zhejiang Zhongshun plans to produce high-quality grades, such as facial tissue, on the first unit, while making lower-quality grades on the other 14 small machines, which will use a mix of nonwood and chemical pulp bought on the market as furnish.

A spokesperson said these other PMs are currently being erected at the mill and are slated to start up by the end of this year. The company has purchased the machine parts from various domestic suppliers and its own technicians are carrying out the installation work. Each unit will have a capacity of around 2,000 tonnes/yr.

Small PMs made in China are much cheaper than imported machines and use less energy. The firm believes that this strategy is the best way for it to get a quick return on the investment.