SCA and Renewcell Sign Lease Agreement for Large-Scale Textile Recycling Operation at Ortviken Paper Mill Site
Renewcell estimates that this establishment will create around one hundred new full-time jobs in a plant that, at full production, will recycle 60,000 tons of textiles a year.
Oct. 3, 2020 - SCA and Renewcell, a textile recycling company based in Stockholm, Sweden, have signed an agreement for Renewcell to establish textile recycling at SCA's Ortviken pulp and paper mill in Sundsvall, Sweden. On August 26, SCA announced its decision to discontinue the production of publication paper at Ortviken by the end of February 2021. The mill's annual paper production capacity is 500,000 tonnes of lightweight coated and 275,000 tonnes of uncoated grades. SCA also announced plans to invest SEK 1,45 billion (approx. USD 162 million) in the production of chemically pre-treated thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) at the Ortviken mill to achieve an annual production volume of 300,000 tonnes of CTMP, using the existing infrastructure. The discontinuation of paper production at the mill has resulted in the opportunity for Renewcell to establish a textile recycling operation at the site. "Sundsvall and Ortviken are an ideal place for us to establish our new plant," said Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell. "Since our recycling process is based on traditional pulp technology, almost all the infrastructure we need is already in place. The most important thing, however, is that there is a lot of great expertise in the area. I look forward to welcoming hundreds of new colleagues to Renewcell in the coming years." Renewcell estimates that this establishment will create around one hundred new full-time jobs in a plant that, at full production, will recycle 60,000 tons of textiles a year. This corresponds to about half of Sweden's annual consumption of textiles. Ulf Larsson, Presiddent of SCA, said, "We are glad that Renewcell chooses Ortviken as the site for this investment. We know that Ortviken is a very attractive industrial site with excellent infrastructure, including first class logistic solutions." SCA will rent out the space for Renewcell's operations and will supply utilities such as steam, water treatment and other services. The first tons of recycled textile pulp under the brand name Circulose® produced at Ortviken are planned to be shipped to customers during the first half of 2022, Renewcell added. Based in Sweden, SCA produces solid-wood products, pulp, kraftliner, publication papers and renewable energy. To learn more, please visit: www.sca.com. SOURCE: SCA |