The new Estonian Cell pulp mill is based near Kunda, Estonia, about 100 km east of Tallinn. Andritz supplied the technology and process equipment for the mechanical pulp mill of Estonian Cell – from woodyard, chip handling, impregnation, refining, bleaching, dewatering, and drying to finished pulp bales. The mill uses the advanced and well-proven Andritz P-RC™ APMP technology, which lowers operating costs and improves pulp quality due to reduced energy consumption (20-30%) at similar chemical charges. It also improves the bio-degradability of effluents (no sulphur compounds) and leads to better mechanical characteristics of the pulp.

Estonian Cell is designed to produce 140,000 t/a of high quality market pulp. The main focus markets are Western Europe and Scandinavia. The bleached pulp from aspen fiber is ideal for papermaking applications ranging from printing and writing grades to paperboard and tissue.  

Abundant hardwood resources, especially aspen, in Estonia and attractive energy and labor costs were the driving forces to promote the idea of building a pulp mill in that region. All state-owned forests in Estonia (1 million ha or 40% of all forested land in the country) have been certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) since 2002. The mill provides employment for approximately 75 full-time people and created several hundred new jobs in the surrounding area (support services, outsourced services, etc.).

Before the mill was built, an extensive environmental impact study had been carried out for the Estonian authorities. The resulting permit covered the environmental performance of the entire plant (emissions to air, effluent to water, generation of wastes, noise) and followed the European Union’s recommendation for the best available technologies.

The general contractor for the project is German RWE Industrie-Lösungen GmbH, which signed a sub-contract for supply of the main process equipment with Andritz in April 2004. Erection works started in March 2005. Andritz completed classroom training for Estonian Cell’s operations and maintenance personnel in autumn 2005. The operators did hands-on training at an Andritz P-RC™ APMP mill in China.  

This project once again confirms Andritz's position as the global leader in hardwood mechanical pulping. During 2005, several similar Andritz lines started production and others are currently under construction.

The Estonian Cell project is financed by Larvik Cell AS of Norway, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Heinzel Group of Austria. Heinzel will also be responsible for marketing and selling Estonian Cell’s market pulp.