KPPL finally set to commence commercial production

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal will formally inaugurate the production on Tuesday, the unit will begin commercial operations by producing high quality 45 gsm newsprint in the first phase

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal will formally inaugurate the production on Tuesday, the unit will begin commercial operations by producing high quality 45 gsm newsprint in the first phase

Ending a wait lasting over five months, the Kerala Paper Products Limited (KPPL) in Velloor, a State-owned Public Sector Unit, is set to start commercial-scale operations.

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal will formally inaugurate the production at a function to be held on KPPL campus on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Industries Minister P. Rajeev will preside over. Ministers A.K. Saseendran, V.N. Vasavan, Members of Parliament Jose K. Mani, Thomas Chazhikkadan, and others will be present at the function.

An official statement said the KPPL was entering the stage of paper making by producing pulp from raw materials such as wood and used waste paper. Paper is made by combining wood pulp through a chemical-mechanical plant and waste paper pulp through a de-inking plant.

The unit will begin commercial operations by producing high quality 45 gsm newsprint in the first phase. As the plants attain stability in production, KPPL will be also able to produce 42 gsm newsprint and 52-70 gsm writing and printing paper.

The revival of KPPL, previously a Centrally owned PSU, began in January this year. The authorities have rolled out a strategic plan in four phases for its revival and sustained operations. The outlay for the revival plan comprising the first two phases was ₹154.39 crore and the third phase envisages capacity expansion and product portfolio diversification, entailing an investment of ₹650 crore in 27 months.

The fourth phase of operations will be centered on restructuring the existing machinery towards production of packaging grades of craft paper. It requires an investment of ₹350 crore and a time period of 17 months for implementation. In the final phase, the company is expected to achieve a turnover of about ₹3,000 crore with a production capacity of more than five lakh metric tonnes per annum.

Development activities in the third and fourth phases aim to move into diversification after increasing productivity. This will enable the production of various grades of packaging paper which are widely sold.



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