Suzano announces the successful operational startup of its new mill, the largest single pulp production line in the world, in Ribas do Rio Pardo, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. This marks the completion of one of Brazil’s largest ever private investment projects.
This state-of-the-art facility will have an annual production capacity of 2.55 million tons of eucalyptus pulp, increasing Suzano’s production capacity by more than 20% to 13.5 million tons a year. The project is the result of a total investment of R$ 22.2 billion (~U$4.3 billion), of which R$ 15.9 billion (~U$3.1 billion) was allocated for the construction of the plant and R$ 6.3 billion (~U$1.2 billion) was earmarked for initiatives such as the formation of the planting base and the pulp outbound logistics. Suzano also has the capacity to produce 1.5 million tons of paper per year, including sanitary paper, printing and writing and packaging lines, among other products that use pulp as raw material.
In line with Suzano’s ESG Commitments to Renewing Life, the site has been purpose-built to meet global demand for sustainably produced eucalyptus-based products. The mill will use renewable biomass to produce, on average, 180 MW of surplus green power a month. This energy, which will be directed toward the mill’s local suppliers as well as the national grid, is enough to power a city of up to 2 million inhabitants. The proximity of the mill to Suzano’s eucalyptus farms means emissions and time from logging transportation will be significantly reduced. The structural distance from forest-to-mill is only 65 kilometres on average compared to Suzano’s structural average supply radius of 150 kilometres. The plant will also be self-sufficient in the production of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide.
The completed project will also have a major impact on both the local community and wider regional economy. Having created as many as 10,000 jobs during the construction phase, the operational mill will now provide 3,000 full-time jobs at the mill and the surrounding forestry and logistic operations.
Suzano is the world’s largest market pulp producer.
