Praxair Uruguay, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX), has signed a 15-year contract to supply oxygen to a new pulp mill complex being built in Punta Pereira, in the department of Colonia, Uruguay. The new facility will be operated by Montes del Plata, a 50-50 joint venture between Arauco of Chile and StoraEnso of Finland and Sweden.

Praxair will build, own and operate a non-cryogenic vacuum-pressure-swing-adsorption (VPSA) plant with a capacity of 126 tons per day of gaseous oxygen. The plant is scheduled to start up in early 2013.

Used in the pulp bleaching process, oxygen delignification reduces active chlorine requirements, providing significant operating cost advantages and environmental benefits.

“We are pleased to support this strategically important project with Praxair´s second plant in Uruguay, strengthening our presence in the region with a strong partnership with Arauco and StoraEnso,” said Gilney Bastos, business executive director of Praxair’s Brazil-based subsidiary, White Martins Industriais Ltda.

“We have reached a good agreement with Praxair, which will benefit both parties. A state-of-the-art pulp mill needs state-of-the-art suppliers, so we are happy having Praxair as one of our partners in line with our main objective, which is to build the best pulp mill in the world,” said Erwin Kaufmann, general manager of Montes del Plata.

The pulp mill will be the largest-ever privately executed investment in Uruguay. The joint venture is investing $1.9 billion in the construction of a state-of-the-art pulp mill, a power generation unit based on renewable sources and deepwater port facilities. The complex is expected to produce 1.3 million tons of cellulose pulp annually beginning in early 2013. More information is available at www.montesdelplata.com.uy.