Eka Chemicals (Akzo Nobel) invest in Brazil

On the 24th May, there was an announcement from Eka Chemicals to continue their investment in Brazil with an injection of EUR 50 million ........ they signed an agreement to supply, store and handle all chemicals for a greenfield pulp mill being built in Três Lagoas, Brazil.

The new mill—known as the Horizonte Project—will have an annual production capacity of 1,250,000 tons of pulp, and was recently transferred to Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) as part of an asset exchange.

Eka Chemicals will establish a chemical island at the new site, mainly for the production of chlorine dioxide. In addition, Akzo Nobel’s pulp and paper chemicals business will also expand its existing site at Jundiaí (São Paulo) where a new production line will produce 30,000 tons of sodium chlorate a year, most of which will be destined for the same Três Lagoas mill. The total investment for Akzo Nobel amounts to around EUR 50 million.

It looks as though the competition for the pulp bleaching business in South America is hotting up between Kemira and Eka.