Kemira invests Euro5m in Siilinjarvi pigment plant expansion

19 December 2002 11:04  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--Finnish chemicals group Kemira announced Thursday it is investing Euro5m ($5.1m) to expand capacity at its Siilinjarvi, Finland pigment plant by about 20%.

A new calcium sulphate pigment production line, which will use Kemira’s own technology, will increase the plant’s total production capacity to 100 000 tonne/year by late 2003. Current capacity is around 80 000 tonne/year, indicated application manager Kari Lehtinen.

Calcium sulphate pigment, marketed under the brand name CoCoat, is used for coating printing paper to improve brightness, opacity and printability.

Kemira also manufacturers calcium sulphate pigments at its facilities in Spain, which are used as fillers in paper, under the trade names Calpak and Oparex.

The paper pigments market will grow by 3% over the next ten years, according to Kemira, which said that the share of mineral pigments in paper is growing constantly as paper grades become increasingly advanced.

Calcium sulphate pigment operations are part of Kemira’s core pulp and paper chemicals division, which is predicted to generate Euro500m in global sales this year.

By: Joanna Kesteven
+44 208 652 3214

< previous article(ICIS Podcast: Chemical News Central 2 November 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly