Dti's Masina visits Sappi's Ngodwana mill

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Pretoria - Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina on Tuesday paid a visit to Sappi’s Ngodwana mill, which recently underwent a R3.3 billion upgrade.

The Deputy Minister was accompanied by a delegation from the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) to the Ngodwana mill situated in Mpumalanga.

Sappi received support for the project from the dti through its Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP).

Sappi Southern Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alex Thiel, said the company was proud to share the successes that have been achieved by the new plant with the Deputy Minister, and welcomed the opportunity to further exchange ideas with government.

“We are grateful for the support of the dti. The successful upgrade and modernisation of the mill is part of Sappi’s strategy to invest in fast growing, high margin businesses that is offsetting the decline of coated paper consumption in mature markets.

“It further strengthens Sappi’s position as a global leader in this fast growing market segment.” 

Additionally, Deputy Minister Masina expressed satisfaction at Sappi’s contribution to the economy of South Africa, as well as job creation.

He encouraged the company to work closely with the dti in achieving Sappi’s transformation targets.

“The department sees many opportunities at Sappi that can be explored as part of the black industrialist programme. We are happy to see that the financial assistance that we provided to Sappi is making a positive and a lasting difference in driving South Africa’s economy,” he said.

The expansion and modernisation of Ngodwana Mill commenced in 2011 as part of Project GoCell which converted a fibre line at the mill to produce 210 000 tons a year of specialised cellulose (dissolving wood pulp), in addition to its existing newsprint and linerboard (packaging paper) production.

Specialised cellulose is a sought-after natural, renewable fibre with a wide range of uses in the textiles, consumer goods, foodstuffs and pharmaceutical industries.

The expansion has helped to increase Sappi’s total global production of this beneficiated wood fibre to 1.3 million tons per year, with one million tons being exported from South Africa to customers in Asia and around the world.

Specialised cellulose is also produced at Sappi’s Saiccor Mill in KwaZulu-Natal and Cloquet Mill in North America.

Thiel said that as a long term investment, the expanded operation will help generate more export revenue and boost the local economy by securing jobs in an area where unemployment is rife. “Over 40,000 people benefit directly and indirectly from Sappi’s presence in the province,” said Thiel.

A key desired outcome of the project was that, during the civil and construction phase, it should benefit the local community through skills training and development which has been achieved.

Another important benefit of the expansion has been the improvements made to the mill's environmental footprint. The bleach plant has been replaced by a new process that is chemically more efficient and that generates less effluent. – SAnews.gov.za