UPM Pulp Matters 2024

FIBRE PHENOMENA

CONNECTION TO THE WORLD Although UPM has accumulated a great deal of experience and know-how from operating the Fray Bentos pulp mill now for almost 20 years – and managing forestry operations in Uruguay for over three decades – the Paso de los Toros mill is a unique setup especially regarding its logistical platform. Because of the mill’s inland location, the rebuilt and improved railroad connecting the mill to the new deep sea pulp terminal in the port of Montevideo is an essential part of the supply chain. The state-owned railroad is part of the Uruguayan government’s infrastructure plan, executed as a public-private partnership. While the 273-kilometre rail connection was being renewed trucks have been used for transporting pulp to the port. “We have progressed this year as planned by gradually ramping up the train deliveries in quarterly phases. In May the first pulp transport by rail was successfully delivered from Paso de los Toros to Montevideo, and we have since increased the amount of pulp transported by train on a weekly basis. By the end of the year we are aiming to have shifted fully from trucks to rail, with four to five daily trains travelling between mill and port,” Battegazzore explains. The first shipment of pulp from UPM’s pulp terminal in Montevideo sailed in May 2023, and all operations have worked smoothly since the beginning, Battegazzore says. “We have so far loaded more than 60 ships and delivered

ROOTS OF FOREST INDUSTRY IN PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION UPM’s history of planting eucalyptus in Uruguay dates back to 1990 – almost to the beginning of the plantation forestry industry in the country. The national forest law passed by the Uruguayan government in 1987 was aimed at diversifying the country’s land use and industrial structure and advancing the protection of native forests. Lucia Basso , Chief Executive Director of Plantesia, a company specialised in timberland assets management in South America, explains that the law, based on the Uruguayan soil classification, created an excellent plan for a pioneering land management programme. This helped to identify forest priority soils that had low fertility for traditional uses such as cattle grazing but with good potential for forestry. “This development was further supported with tax exemptions and subsidies, which are no longer in force, targeted at the forest industry – they helped to attract investments,” Basso says. She considers these measures to have been highly successful as today forestry is Uruguay’s leading export industry, with a total value of almost USD 3,000 million, representing 6% of the country’s GDP. “The sector has grown so that we have reached just over 1 million hectares of planted forests. Despite this,

pulp to all of our market areas – APAC, North America and Europe – and also regularly receive shipments of chemicals for pulp production, such as caustic soda and sulfuric acid.” UPM EUCA FROM TWO TOP CLASS MILLS A key factor behind the smooth progression of the Paso de los Toros project has been the UPM Fray Bentos pulp mill and its expert staff, some of whom have relocated to the new mill. They have also been an invaluable resource in training new mill operators. Fray Bentos recently reached a milestone of its own by producing the mill’s 20 millionth tonne of UPM Euca pulp. “We’re proud of how the Fray Bentos mill has consolidated itself as a benchmark in the field and how, in fact, it launched the entire modern pulp industry in Uruguay. Initially there were many questions raised locally, for example, regarding the environmental impacts and safety of the industry, but our professional organisation was quickly able to demonstrate the mill’s solid performance in all aspects,” Battegazzore notes. He emphasises that the goal from the very beginning has been to make sure that the quality of UPM Euca is exactly the same from both mills. “In terms of quality parameters and papermaking properties, it’s important that our customers can rely on the consistency of the product. Much of this is of course due to the consistent quality of the raw material and optimised mix of eucalyptus species established on our plantations.”

850+ people 6% share of energy generation in Uruguay working at mill site daily 2.1 million t/a eucalyptus pulp

“THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF ROOM FOR THE SUSTAINABLE

GROWTH OF FORESTRY IN URUGUAY.”

Lucia Basso CEO, Plantesia President, Sociedad de Productores Forestales

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PULP MATTERS 2024