News Packaging
Pratt Industries plans new Ohio recycled containerboard mill

Nov. 20, 2017 – Pratt Industries is building a new mill in Ohio which aims to add 360,000 tonnes/year of corrugated medium and linerboard capacity to the market.

The US$275-million project will be financed in large part through a $210-million tax-exempt municipal revenue bond to be issued by the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority. The proceeds will be handed over to Pratt Paper (OH) LLC in the form of a loan and funds will be used by the borrower to finance the project, according the provisional bond prospectus available to EUWID. Pratt Industries will provide the other $65 million from equity.

Construction work is set to get under way next March, with the new paper machine possibly ready to start operating in the fourth quarter of 2019. In project documentation, Pratt Industries has disclosed that Valmet will supply the paper machine, which will have a wire width of 6.24 metres and a maximum operating speed of 1,100 m/min.

Pratt Industries plans to meet all of its raw material needs through its corrugating and converting division Pratt Corrugated Holdings (PCH), which currently manufactures and sells corrugated sheet and boxes and other specialty packaging. PCH is to purchase 90 per cent of Pratt Paper’s new recycled containerboard capacity in Ohio, too. The other 10 per cent would be sold to third parties.