News Pulp
Resolute to install continuous digester at Calhoun paper mill

Resolute Forest Products Inc. has announced a US$105 million upgrade to its Calhoun, Tennessee, pulp and paper mill, including the installation of a modern continuous pulp digester and other wood chip processing equipment. When completed by…

Resolute Forest Products Inc. has announced a US$105 million upgrade to its Calhoun, Tennessee, pulp and paper mill, including the installation of a modern continuous pulp digester and other wood chip processing equipment. When completed by mid-2016, the project will contribute to significantly lower the mill’s costs, increase its pulp capacity and improve the mill’s versatility.

“This investment will make a good mill even better,” said Richard Garneau, president and CEO. “It will improve the mill’s long-term competitiveness by lowering its costs and giving it the flexibility to adjust grade production to changing market dynamics.”

In addition to creating approximately 50 new jobs to join the 480 employees currently at the mill, Resolute expects the project’s implementation to produce efficiencies from better wood yield and lower steam and chemical usage. It will also increase the pulp machine’s production output and maximize dryer utilization for internal purposes, giving the mill the versatility to manufacture a range of products, including specialty papers such as Resolute’s Align™ uncoated freesheet substitutes, and value-added grades not presently in the product offering.

The Calhoun mill currently operates three machines and a pulp dryer and has a total mill capacity of approximately 609,000 tonnes of market pulp, specialty papers and newsprint.

Resolute Forest Products is a global forest products company with a diverse range of products, including newsprint, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. The company owns or operates more than 40 pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea, and power generation assets in Canada.