Rutland Herald (VT)
July 22, 2013
Section: BUSINESS

Omya planning to build plant in Michigan

   STAFF REPORT
ESCANABA, Mich. — Omya and NewPage Corp. have entered into a long-term agreement to build a precipitated calcium carbonate plant at the NewPage Escanaba paper mill. The plant will create seven jobs. In addition, Omya said the mill will save on transportation costs with lime needed for the precipitated calcium carbonate manufacturing process purchased from the Upper Peninsula.

The company said the environment will also benefit from having the plant on-site. Currently, the CO2 produced by the mill is emitted into the air. The on-site plant will use CO2 generated by the mill in the manufacturing process, reducing the environmental impact.

“We are very excited to build and operate this new PCC plant for NewPage Escanaba,” said Tony Colak, CEO for Omya Region Americas, which is based in Cincinnati. “Most importantly, we are pleased to be a strategic supplier and partner with NewPage. The close collaboration between Omya and NewPage has resulted in this long-term commitment.”

Precipitated calcium carbonate is an essential raw material used in the papermaking process. It lends to key properties such as bulk, opacity, brightness and whiteness. PCC is manufactured using lime and carbon dioxide.

(Omya’s Pittsford, Vt., plant uses a different process to manufacture ground calcium carbonate).

The NewPage mill currently purchases precipitated calcium carbonate from another supplier.

NewPage is a maker of printing and specialty papers with 2012 sales of $3.1 billion. The company is headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, and operates paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

These mills have a total annual production capacity of approximately 3.5 million tons of paper.

The company’s portfolio of paper products includes coated, super-calendered and specialty papers. These papers are used in commercial printing to create corporate collateral, magazines, catalogs, books, coupons, inserts and direct mail as well as in specialty paper applications including beverage bottle labels, food and medical packaging, pressure-sensitive labels and release liners (www.NewPageCorp.com).

Omya is a global producer of industrial minerals, mainly fillers and pigments derived from calcium carbonate and dolomite, and worldwide distributor of chemical products. The company’s major markets are paper, polymers, building materials (paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives and construction) as well as life sciences (food, feed, pharma, cosmetics, environment and agriculture).

Founded in 1884 in Oftringen, Switzerland, Omya has operations in more than 50 countries with 7,000 employees (www.omya.com).