Sappi Ngodwana is upgrading its paper machine at its mill, which is located in Mpumalanga province, 300km east of Johannesburg. KLB 1 produces 240,000 tonnes per year of Kraftliner in basis weights between 140 – 400 gsm.
The main scope of the investment, which Sappi has awarded to Bellmer, is quality improvement and enabling of efficient production of lower basis weights. The production will be increased to 250,000 tonnes per year in the first step. Further rebuild steps will allow the production of 325,000 up to 377,000 tonnes per year.
Naresh Naidoo, General Manager, Sappi Ngodwana, said, “We appreciated the professional services rendered by Bellmer on this project, contributing to the operational efficiency of this plant. The equipment delivery is planned for the end of 2021 with the commission and start-up scheduled during the second quarter of 2022.”