Portuguese papermaker Grupo Portucel Soporcel is preparing for major expansion in the U.S., as it completes a $754 million project for two of the largest Metso paper machines in the world at new mill south of Lisbon. Graphic Arts Monthly Editor in Chief Bill Esler visited the company and profiled the paper maker in the lastest issue of the magazine.
The new mill, set to open in August, will have a capacity of 551,000 short tons per year, bringing the firm's output to some 1.65 million short tons. It will meet environmental standards in force in Europe, with 92% of energy from biomass. With an annual turnover of over $1.5 billion, the paper company exports 92% of its production, 10% of it to the U.S. The new mill will allow it to increase its exports to around $1.750 billion and directly create 350 jobs.
While there seems to be no shortage of paper supply in the U.S., as mills curtail output, the papermaker says printers aren't always finding what they want. A study of U.S. printers found their biggest pet peeves were paper jams and lack of uniformity in trim, which the Portuguese company says it will address as it prepares for major expansion in the U.S.
Already serving the U.S. from inventory at five warehouses (Los Angeles, Houston, Baltimore, Savannah, GA, and Port Elizabeth, NY), Portucel Soporcel supplies cut sheet 99-brightness Navigator Platinum in up to 32 lb. for office printers and digital presses (28 lb. in sizes to 12×18´´). It also offers 97-brightness Soporset offset text 40- to 80-lb. in a wide range of folio sizes at Unisource and other merchants.
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