In July 2015 the joint-stock company PAPCEL signed a contract with the paper concern NEPA in India for modernization of two paper machines for production of newsprint and graphic paper. It is the first sales success and the first major order for PAPCEL Group in this market.

The company NEPA Ltd. is a state paper group, located in Nepangar, Madhya Pradesh state. The government of India supports modernization of the whole paper line. All tender participants had to meet very strict selection criteria; the selection procedure itself took more than six months.

This project is being realized in cooperation with PAPCEL subsidiary in India, which has been operating in the market for more than 5 years. The project is also interesting for the fact that a large portion of deliveries and, above all, services will be realized and purchased directly in India from local subcontractors, and our subsidiary will participate in the subcontracting management process.

The ambition of PAPCEL in the Indian market is to rank as an equal competitor to the world´s major producers of paper technology. In India, there are currently more than 700 operating paper mills, ranging from small mills with technical level of the early 20th century to modern high-capacity mills. The current consumption of paper in India is only 11 kg per capita per year as compared to the world average which is 56 kg. As it is expected that the consumption will increase, local entrepreneurs and governments realize the importance of this fact and the Indian market opened a window of opportunity for local and foreign suppliers of all kinds of equipment and machinery for processing of pulp and paper as well as production of all grades of paper. This is a unique situation and everyone in the paper industry tries to be very active in the Indian market.

The paper mill NEPA operates two paper machines producing paper of width 5.350 mm on reel. Both machines will produce paper with a substance of 40 - 45 g/m2 for newsprint or 50 - 80 g/m2 for graphic paper. After the upgrade, the PM 1 will reach the output of up to 231 tpd (under the maximum operation speed of 700 m/min) and the PM 2 up to 129 tpd (under the maximum speed of 400 m/min). Both machines are expected to improve significantly the drainage process efficiency in the wet parts. The drying parts will undergo major renovations in order to increase the output and decrease the energy consumption per ton of the paper produced. Apart from the paper machine upgrade, the PM approach flow system will be modified and the line for broke processing and the water management system will be supplied as well as stock preparation line and line for preparation of chemicals.

PAPCEL is the general supplier of this project; it provides complete engineering and project management services, controls the assembly and performs the commissioning and the guarantee tests. The assembly will be carried out by local companies.

So far, this is our largest delivery in Southeast Asia and, by its extent, particularly in terms of the delivered services, it is one of the PAPCEL Group’s most important projects.