Nine Dragons unveils six-line expansion programme

China – According to Nine Dragons Paper, the biggest containerboard product producer in Asia and one of the largest in the world, it is to press ahead with capacity increases despite the current global economic slowdown.

Six new lines will enter production over the next three years, including five in China and one in Vietnam. ‘Along with active expansion of overseas markets, such a move is estimated to add more than 2 million tonnes to its production capacity,’ the group states.

According to chairlady Cheung Yan, supply and demand for packaging paperboard products will gradually increase given ‘favourable prospects after 2015’. For Nine Dragons, the new lines ‘will further strengthen its regional scale, diversifying its product portfolio in order to exploit its economies of scale’.

Vigorous plans

And she adds: ‘The positive effects brought by global economic recovery have begun to emerge. We will endeavour to carry forward a vigorous capital expenditure plan allowing us to consolidate and expand our leading position in the market in the next three years.’

Two packaging paperboard production lines with a total annual capacity of 650 000 tonnes are scheduled for imminent start-up at Fujian Quanzhou, according to Nine Dragons. Another packaging paperboard production line with a yearly capacity of 300 000 tonnes will commence production at Sichuan Leshan before December.

Among its other plans, the group is proposing to build a new packaging paperboard production line in Vietnam with an annual capacity of 350 000 tonnes. This will come on stream before the end of 2016 and will entail a total investment of approximately US$ 180 million.

For more information, visit: www.ndpaper.com