OREANDA-NEWS. May 26, 2011. Metso, a global supplier of industry technology, will provide a new batch cooking plant to Horizon Pulp & Paper's Kerha mill in Estonia.

The facility will go into operation at the end of this year, the company said. The purchase of the installation is a part of the sack craft production 120 million investment program that will last for several more years.

A representative reported Ashwani Sharma, board chairman of Horizon Pulp & Paper, as saying that the new technology would increase Horizon's pulp production volume from 210 to 350 tons a day. It will also contract energy consumption by 25 percent and consumption of water by 1.3 million cubic meters a year, Sharma added. According to Sharma, the carbon dioxide emissions of the facility will contract by 35 percent and the investment will make it possible to economize 2.5 million euros at the expense of energy.

Sharma said that in two years Horizon intends to bring the annual capacity from the present 70,000 tons to 115,000 tons, replacing the "three current machines by a single, top quality, cost and energy-efficient paper machine".

Horizon produces sack craft and exports its output to 50 countries. The company fully belongs to the Singapore-based global Tolaram Group. In the last ten years Horizon has invested nearly 70 million euros into the facility.

Last year's turnover of Horizon Pulp & Paper totaled 52 million euros at 8.6 million euros net profit, with the net profit margin of 1.65 percent. The sales proceeds of the company continued to improve in Q1 this year when Horizon achieved a net profit margin  of 25 percent.