Domtar Enters (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
business decision.” Domtar looks to put an emphasis on lightweighting and providing innovative packaging solutions. The mill will pro- duce a full range of recycled products with basis weights ranging from 18# to 42#, to serve a variety of customers who may be seeking ways to reduce the amount of pack- aging and moving towards a lower basis weight with ex- ceptional strength and durability. “We are making sure we take a long-term strategic view of which customers we want to partner with, based on a variety of factors, not just geographic location. Ultimately, we are open to serving all of the North American footprint, as well as exporting some too,” said Henry. Big Machine A greenfield OCC plant with fiber fractionation will consume nearly 660,000 tons of recycled material to pro- duce new containerboard. Domtar is utilizing the newest, uncoated free sheet machine in North America, which started up in 2003 and working with Voith to upgrade the machine to produce premium recycled liner and medium. The machine has a 340-inch wide trim, which is well po- sitioned to serve 110-inch corrugators. The Voith machine at Kingsport will have the ability to run up to 4,500-feet per minute, making it one of the fastest containerboard machines in North America and the second largest recy- cled machine in North America. The system will include Voith’s BlueLine products, including water, sludge and re- CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
tar feels that sustainable paper-based packaging is the right decision and most importantly, helps protect the en- vironment from plastic waste. “We continue to see a great- er adoption of recycled grades,” said Henry. “There used to be a more specific selection of recycled grades versus
kraftliner, but the industry is constantly learning more on how to build a better box with recycled grades, while preserving the strength of the board in the converting process.” Henry states that the recycled product has been sourced from the right part- ners in the region, to secure
Steve Henry
materials they will need for next year, as an initiative led by Mike Butler, Senior Director of Fiber Sourcing at Domtar. “Containerboard is a growing business. It grows at about two percent per year and the pandemic has just sped that up,” said Wilson. “People are working from home and ordering online. E-commerce is redefining how we buy. Now, everything comes in a box. I see it growing further as we move along. Domtar had the project planned and a team in place at Kingsport, prior to COVID-19, and the pandemic just reaffirmed that they had made the right
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www.boardconvertingnews.com
July 12, 2021
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