Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability Botnia and the Fray Bentos Pulp Mill Brand:Pulp&Paper
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Botnia Cover final:Layout 1 4/2/08 11:37 Page 1 SOWING THE SEEDS OF SUSTAINABILITY SOWING THE SEEDS OF SUSTAINABILITY www.botnia.com The story of how Botnia, the Finnish pulp manufacturer, planned, developed and constructed its sixth pulp mill near the Uruguayan port town of Fray Bentos is big news. The price tag of US$1.1 billion is the biggest single investment in Uruguay’s history. Its projected output – one million tons of bleached eucalyptus pulp per year – is a big addition to the company’s portfolio. It’s having a big socio-economic effect, too. 8,000 new jobs have been generated in and around Fray Bentos; Botnia’s arrival has single-handedly boosted GDP in the Río Negro region by as much as 50 per cent. Yet these and the many other positive factors that mark this landmark project don’t explain why Botnia’s newest mill has been one of very few pulp manufacturing developments to make the international headlines. Parts of the story are provocative and controversial – a tale of strong Argentine opposition, which sparked a serious row between the peoples and governments of Uruguay and Argentina. Botnia never expected such protest. The professional construction team, united in its commitment to deliver only the best, adhered strictly to the use of Best Available Techniques (BAT) and to the principles of BOTNIA AND THE FRAY BENTOS PULP MILL BRAND:PULP&PAPER BOTNIA AND THE FRAY environmental and social responsibility. How Botnia overcame the unforeseen obstacles in Uruguay is one of the most intriguing aspects of the often challenging but ultimately rewarding story. This book commemorates the successful completion of the Fray Bentos pulp mill. In-depth features, original photographs and behind- the-scenes interviews form the core of the book. They cover the whole Botnia operation in and around Fray Bentos – the nursery, plantations, pulp manufacture, environment, social impact and export facilities – follow the planning and construction journey as it unfolded and evoke the deep spirit of cooperation and teamwork that characterised the build. SOWING THE SEEDS OF SUSTAINABILITY BOTNIA AND THE FRAY BENTOS PULP MILL brand:pulp&paper Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 28/1/08 11:04 Page 3 SOWING THE SEEDS OF SUSTAINABILITY BOTNIA AND THE FRAY BENTOS PULP MILL brand:pulp&paper Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 28/1/08 11:04 Page 4 Location Uruguay Rosário do Sul Monte Caseros Bella Union Quarai ARGENTINA Artigas BRAZIL ARTIGAS Santana do Livramento Rivera Tranqueras Bagé Salto SALTO RIVERA Tacuarembó Aceguá PAYSANDÚ TACUAREMBÓ Paysandú Guichón Concepción Melo del Uruguay Jaguarão San Gregorio CERRO LARGO RÍO NEGRO Rio Branco Young Paso de los Toros Gualeguaychú Blanquillo Vergara TREINTA Y TRES Fray DURAZNO Treinta y Tres Bentos Mercedes Durazno Sarandí Trinidad del Yi SORIANO José Pedro Dolores Varela FLORES Chuy Cardona FLORIDA LAVALLEJA ROCHA Carmelo SAN COLONIA JOSÉ Florida San José Minas Rocha Canelones Juan L. Colonia Lacaze CANELONES MALDONADO SOUTH ATLANTIC Buenos Aires RÍO DE LA PLATA OCEAN La Plata Maldonado © Brandconsult 2008 Montevideo Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 28/1/08 11:04 Page 5 Forewords Erkki Varis Dr. Omar María Lafluf Hebeich President and CEO, Botnia Governor of the Río Negro Department, Uruguay Botnia’s decision in March 2005 to green light the construction These are exciting times for Fray Bentos and the Río Negro. of a million ton per year pulp mill in Western Uruguay marked After some well-documented problems following the closure of a major step forward in our strategy of energetic expansion. We the Anglo meat processing plant, our region is becoming, once wanted to take that step confidently, to add southern again, a major manufacturing and commercial centre. Botnia’s hemisphere eucalyptus to our established pulp portfolio, to gain US$1.1 billion investment is the largest industrial investment in control of the complete fibre chain from seedling cultivation to the history of Uruguay. Now, Fray Bentos is working again. the end product. On 9 November 2007, when our Fray Bentos At the local, regional and national levels, Uruguay has long mill began its start-up phase, we achieved just that. encouraged technology-rich enterprises to invest in the country The concept was to create one of the world’s most modern and utilise its many benefits. We have one of the best-educated pulp mills and an example in environmental care. This meant workforces in Latin America, a stable political/economic outlook designing in the very latest tried-and-tested technologies that and, perhaps most pertinent for Botnia, a dynamic forestry comply with the most stringent EU regulations. We also had to business that has matured well over the last 20 years. The Río establish many complementary operations at an express pace – Negro truly has a lot to offer. to refine the existing nursery and plantation infrastructure, It should be remembered that Botnia is one of Europe’s nurture eucalyptus crops with the short-fibre characteristics our most socially and environmentally responsible pulp producing customers need and build an export operation to deliver the companies. Its commitment to total environmental care in end product on time, every time. Above all, we needed to foster Uruguay has been proven many times over. The public welfare a spirit of collaboration with the people of Fray Bentos and its initiatives that have been undertaken throughout the region neighbouring areas. testify to its progressive socio-economic credentials. I would like to thank the people who helped us to overcome In Fray Bentos alone, improvements in people’s everyday the often serious challenges and to create an outstanding pulp lives can be seen everywhere: revitalised businesses, shops, business in a brand-new location: the welcoming communities hotels and services; 300 new houses, an expanded pier and two from which we have drawn our workforce, the 7,000 workers logistics centres. If predictions are correct, regional GDP will and many companies that participated in the construction phase increase by 50 per cent in the mill’s first full year of operation. and, finally, the regional and national authorities of Uruguay. We recognise that we can only improve our region’s This book celebrates a very important achievement for our fortunes with the investments, help and support of partner company. I hope very much that you enjoy it. organisations. Together, we can overcome challenges and share rewards. I am very proud of what has been achieved. Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 28/1/08 11:04 Page 6 Published by brand:pulp&paper Maghull Business Centre 1 Liverpool Road North Maghull Liverpool L31 2HB United Kingdom T: +44 (0) 151 526 5061 www.brandconsult.co.uk Written and Researched by Iestyn Adams Project Directed by André Morrall Graphic Design by Andrew Cothliff Photography by André Morrall, Andrew Cothliff, Guillermo Robles and Botnia, unless stated Acknowledgements The publishers would like to thank the very many people at companies and organisations who supplied information and imagery to support this publication: ABB, Andritz, Betamet, Brunnschweiler, Degrémont, Honeywell, Hutní Montáže, Ingener, John Deere Forestry, Kemira, Kymppi-Eristys, Lemcon, Ponsse, Pöyry and Savcor Forest. Particular thanks go to Kirsi Seppäläinen (Manager, Communications at Botnia), Marianne Schneeberger (Communications, Botnia S.A.) and Brian Jones, former CEO of Shell Forestry, for his invaluable material on the early days of FOSA. © Brandconsult 2008 The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No liability can be accepted for any inaccuracies or omissions. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microfilming or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 28/1/08 11:04 Page 7 Contents OVERVIEW 01 The Heart of the Matter 08 BACKGROUND 02 Out of the Woods 12 INVESTMENT 03 Enter the Botnians 20 FORESTRY 04 Growing up Fast 26 Savcor Forest 34 John Deere Forestry 36 Ponsse 38 DEVELOPMENT 05 It’s a Go! 40 CONSTRUCTION 06 La Batalla del Papel 47 Pöyry 56 Lemcon 60 Ingener 62 Hutní Montáže 64 Betamet 66 Kymppi-Eristys 70 PROCESS 07 Coming Clean 72 Andritz 78 ABB 86 Honeywell 88 Brunnschweiler 92 Kemira 94 Degrémont 96 MARKETS 08 The Paper Trail 100 SUMMARY 09 Endings, and New Beginnings 104 Facts & Figures 110 Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 28/1/08 11:04 Page 8 OVERVIEW 08 Botnia 1.1:Layout 1 4/2/08 10:53 Page 9 CHAPTER 01 The Heart of the Matter ray Bentos, capital of the Río Negro, spreads inland from the sienna shores of the Río Uruguay, 300 kilometres northwest of Montevideo. It’s a beautiful Uruguayan morning. Wide tree-lined Favenues intersect the riverside road and direct travellers to the centre of town. Our destination turns out to be an elegant sun-dappled plaza. We pause a moment outside the colonial-style Intendencia, the Town Hall, and observe a group of young Fraybentinos resting under the shade of a filigree iron bandstand, which would be perfectly at home in London’s Kensington Gardens. People smile and chat on street corners. Kids swish past on motor scooters and ancient cars line well-worn pavements, rare survivors in a living motor museum. The atmosphere, welcoming and relaxed, is instantly enticing. It would be easy, at this first meeting, to dismiss Fray Bentos as a tranquil riverside backwater where nothing much happens. Adjectives like ‘sleepy’, ‘drowsy’ and ‘languorous’ are so often used OVERVIEW to describe this laid-back port town of almost 25,000 people. Yet, founded in 1859 (and named after the reclusive Jesuit monk Fraille Bento), Fray Bentos was once the pulsating industrial heart of 09 Uruguay.