US$8.6m Sappi contract for automation technology group ABB

This large order follows ABB's successful implementation of Sappi Saiccor's Amakhulu project in 2007. According to the agreement, ABB will engineer, procure and supply equipment for Sappi's Ngodwana, Nelspruit mill, as part of Sappi's Go Cell project, which entails the expansion of the current mill for the production of chemical cellulose.

According to ABB South Africa CEO Carlos Poñe, the company's involvement in the expansion and modernisation of Sappi's Ngodwana plant reflects on ABB's capabilities in the pulp and paper sphere - which made it the preferred choice of "this giant player in the industry." The agreement is "a proud achievement for ABB," Poñe told Engineering News, adding that ABB will appoint an international team of pulp and paper composite plant experts from South Africa, Finland and Singapore to lead this project and ensure that Sappi's project deadline is met. The project teams, Poñe said, will "develop capabilities to benefit processes in the production of chemical cellulose at Sappi." Plant production is expected to start in 2013.

Read the full article on www.engineeringnews.co.za.