Proposals to develop a £1 billion integrated forest industry project at Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth have been announced today (Monday, 6 December).
Discussions are already underway between Forscot and Alcan, the site owner, to secure an option on the former aluminium smelter site for a development which could eventually create up to 500 new jobs.
The proposals involve plans to build and operate a pulp mill, paper mill, saw mill and renewable energy generation plant, using Sitka spruce grown in Scotland and northern England, which is in plentiful supply and produces both pulp and paper of the highest quality. Forscot will be able to offer significantly better prices and longer term stability than is currently available to wood sellers in the market.
Forscot has secured funding for the first stage of the project, including a grant of £0.2 million from Ross and Cromarty Enterprise. This will enable the company to complete feasibility studies, secure the site and obtain the necessary planning and environmental permits. The company hopes to begin construction in 2006 and start manufacturing in 2008.
The pulp mill will produce 550,000 tonnes per year of A+ grade NBSK (northern bleached softwood kraft) pulp. Sitka spruce produces a white, high strength pulp ideal for high quality fine and magazine papers, as well as for adding strength to products made from recycled fibre. It commands a secure position in the world market and achieves a premium price. This pulp is currently only made in Canada.
The paper mill will produce 420,000 tonnes per year of mechanical publication paper from the company's own produced mechanical and chemical pulps, for use in advertising material and magazines, a market which is growing at 3 – 5 per cent per year. The main markets for this paper will be in Europe.
Wood waste from the saw mill and pulp mill will fuel a main boiler to power the site, and a recovery boiler will be installed to recycle chemicals used in the pulping process. These two boilers will produce surplus electricity, which is likely to be classified as ‘green' power and which could be sold on the open market.
Forscot Limited has been formed by a committed board of five experienced forest products industry executives to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the plentiful supplies of Sitka spruce grown in Scotland and northern England. The Forscot directors are Ed Gillespie (chairman), Tharald Frette (acting managing director), David Mackie, Robert Rickman and Thomas Tait.
Ed Gillespie, chairman of Forscot, said: ‘This will be a world class operation and a major competitor in the global pulp and paper market.'
Date: 6 December, 2004
Additional information:
The Invergordon smelter was closed in 1981 by the British Aluminium Company (BACO). Alcan took ownership of the land following its acquisition of BACO in 1982.
Since 1992 Cromarty Firth Industrial Park has operated on the site, and is today the location of 11 businesses, employing around 200 people.
The first priority for all parties in the discussions will remain the long term sustainability of the existing employment on Cromarty Firth Industrial Park.
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