We visited Beijing in September for China Paper 2009 but, the visit was extended to other gracious cities of China as a part of press tour organized by Metso. Chinese media & associations helped us to understand the dynamics of the Chinese paper industry and here we present the reflections of “2008 Annual Report on China Paper Industry” compiled by China Paper Association. Together with a brief synopsis of the exhibition and the two mills visited: Longfeng Paper Co. in Puyang, Henan and MCC Paper Yinhe in Linqing, Shandong.
China Paper 2009, Beijing
China Paper / China Forest 2009, the 17th exhibition and conference for China’s pulp, paper and forestry industries concluded well with about 13,000 square meters exhibit space. The Beijing city welcomed nearly 6000 highly qualified attendees and buyers from across China and other 40 countries and regions including India, Russia, Iran, Finland, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Mongolia, Syria, Uzbekistan, UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Israel, Vietnam, Pakistan, Brazil, Sri Lanka, English, France, Nepal, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, Hong Kong, Belgium, Germany, Philippine, Czech, Malaysia, Switzerland, Tunis, Turkmenistan, Taiwan, Egypt, US, Italy, Ukraine. Roughly 300 international paper related companies from 18 countries and regions participated including Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Canada, Holland, Poland, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, UK, US, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
MCC Paper Yinhe – Linqing, Shandong
MCC Paper Yinhe is a state-owned company operating two mills in Linqing city of Shandong province in China with
roughly 6,000 employees. The company was originally founded in 1958 and joined MCC in 2007. MCC (China Metallurgical Group Corporation) is one of the largest equipment manufacturers in China. MCC Paper Yinhe Co., Ltd. started 5.8-m-wide uncoated papermaking line on July 26, 2009. The Metso supplied new line produces around 200,000 metric tons of uncoated fine paper annually.
Conversing about the new machine Wan Zhonghua, Vice President and Executive Vice General Manager of MCC Yinhe said: “This is the first modern fast-speed paper machine line for our company and we are happy that the machine was successfully commenced as planned even though the schedule was tight.”
Further sharing the experience with Metso he said: “Cooperation between Metso and Yinhe has always been good. Now the machine speed is 1,250 m/min. Given that the production has been running for less than two months since start-up, our quality still needs to improve but we believe that with Metso’s professional support we will reach our target.”
Metso’s scope of supply comprised a complete all-online paper machine from headbox to reel with related stock preparation and air systems, as well as a chemicals handling plant for the whole paper machine line. The line’s technological features include a ValFormer shoe blade hybrid former and a ValHood hood. An extensive metsoDNA automation package further contained process, machine and quality controls, runnability and condition monitoring systems, and Kajaani analyzers.
Longfeng Paper Co. – Puyang, Henan
Puyang Longfeng Paper Co., Ltd. located in Puyang City, China’s Henan province is owned by Henan Provincial Investment Group, Puyang Municipal Investment Corporation and three other shareholders. The Puyang integrated plantation forest and paper mill is a benchmark project in the Henan province.
The mill recently installed a Metso-supplied 7.9-m-wide lightweight-coated papermaking line in December 2008. This new line produces close to 1,000 tons of printing and writing paper grades daily.
Mr. Wang Gen, Vice General Manager of the Henan mill commenting on the new installation said: “Working together with Metso was very easy, and we all gained from this cooperation. Together with the skilled Metso site group we achieved an on-schedule installation and ensured the quality of the processes and start-up.”
Metso’s delivery comprised of a complete all-on-machine OptiConcept paper machine from headbox to reel with coating and multinip calendering. The related stock preparation and air systems as well as wet end chemicals and coating color preparation systems were included. The extensive automation package contained process, machine and quality controls as well as runnability and condition monitoring systems.
The Reflections: China Paper Industry
According to the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics, during the first 11 months of 2008, there were 3,494 paper mills above the statistical threshold, in which 680 paper mills were operating with deficit. The total number of employees were 752,000. The industry statistics indicated that the paper industry in 2008 kept a stable growth, the major economic indicators and overall economic benefits were in good condition.
Production and Consumption of Paper & Board
According to the survey made by China Paper Association, in 2008, there were about 3,500 paper mills in mainland China; their total production of paper & board was 79.80 million tons, increased by 8.57% compared to 73.50 million tons in 2007, whereas the total paper & board consumption was 79.35 million tons, increased by 8.85% compared to 72.90 million tons in 2007. Per capita consumption of paper & board reached 60 kg from 55 kg in 2007. From 2000 to 2008, the nation’s total paper & board production increased by 161.64% with an average annual growth rate of 12.78%, total consumption increased by 121.96% with an average annual growth rate of 10.48%.
Fibre Scenario
According to CPA’s survey, in 2008, the total pulp production was 64.15 million tons, increased by 8.09% compared
to 59.35 million tons in 2007. The total pulp consumption was 73.6 million tons, increased by 8.73% compared to 67.69 million tons in 2007. In which, wood pulp was 22%, non-wood pulp was 18%; pulp from wastepaper was 60%. The import volume of pulp was 9.52 million tons; its export volume was 72,300 tons. The import volume of wastepaper was 24.21 million tons; its export volume was 20 tons.
Import Export Vista
According to the survey, in 2008, the total import volume of paper & board, pulp, wastepaper, converted paper products was 37.49 million tons; their total value was USD 16.627 billion. The average price of imported paper & board was USD 1018.35 per ton, while the average price of imported pulp was USD 704.25 per ton. The average price of imported wastepaper was USD229.60 per ton.
In 2008, the total export volume of paper & board, pulp, wastepaper & converted paper products was 6.2123 million tons; the foreign currency earned from the export was USD 7.8 billion. The average price of exported paper & board was USD 991.87 per ton. The average price of exported pulp was USD 1359.91 per ton. The average price of exported wastepaper was USD203.03 per ton.
The Chinese paper industry has seen a highflier growth of 161% during 2000-2008 in paper production and reached 80 million ton approximately in 2008. China has a per capita consumption of 60 kg while India’s per capita consumption is just about 10 kg. So considering the huge difference in per capita consumption, India should also reach the production level of 20-25 million ton by 2020 from current production of 10-12 million ton.
