OREANDA-NEWS. September 28, 2009. The Shklov Newsprint Mill will reach the designed output capacity in December 2009, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky told reporters. The Belarusian Premier is in the plant on a visit.

“At present the plant produces up to 1,800 tonnes of paper, or 70% of the designed output capacity. At the same time, as any new technological process, it needs time to master and adjust the up-to-date equipment,” the Premier noted.

The Shklov Newsprint Mill uses the most advanced technologies and equipment. For instance, the plant produces thermomechanical mass for paper by means of reaction technologies. The production process allows the plant to economize up to 25% of energy resources.

“The breakdown of a number of hydraulic and electrical systems of leading world producers has come as a surprise for us. They admitted rejects and started to replace separate units and aggregates,” Sergei Sidorsky said.

According to him, the insufficient skill level of local specialists is one more serious problem. To settle this problem, the Shklov Newsprint Mill has concluded a contract with the Russian company Bumtechno which will help the plant train the personnel and start-up the papermaking machine.

The Shklov Newsprint Mill has already started to produce qualitative paper which is in demand on the market. “At the same time, we would like to produce all the types of the high grade paper including the light coated paper,” Sergei Sidorsky underscored.

The construction of the Shklov-based newsprint mill began in 2005 to end in 2008. In ex-USSR the company is unmatched in using the latest technologies that ensure high energy efficiency. The equipment was made in France, Austria, Lithuania, Germany, Russia, and Finland. Along with the newsprint production facilities the company includes a timber enterprise able to process around 200,000 cubic metres of timber per annum and manufacture wooden houses as well as planed and glued wooden products. At present the company employs 850 people.