Colombo Energy Expects New South Carolina Fuel Pellet Mill to be Fully Operational by Fourth-Quarter 2016

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Portuguese pulp and paper maker Grupo Portucel Soporcel (Setubal, Portugal), which formally changed its name to The Navigator Company as of February, is making its first dive into the U.S. market with Colombo Energy Incorporated (Greenwood, South Carolina). The company expects to have its new fuel pellet production facility (located in Greenwood, County, South Carolina) fully operational by the fourth quarter of this year.

The Navigator Company is Portugal's third leading exporter, generating the highest national value added with an annual revenue of more than €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion). The company accounts for approximately 1% of Portugal's GDP, around 3% of the country's total export of goods, nearly 8% of all containerized cargo and 7% of all containerized and conventional cargo exported through Portuguese ports, according to Navigator's press release announcing the name change on February 10.

In April 2015, Industrial Info released a story on the mill's groundbreaking, and construction activity is buzzing around the 125-acre site in the Emerald Road Industrial Corridor located 5 miles east of Greenwood near the Fujifilm Manufacturing USA facility. For more information on the groundbreaking last year, see April 14, 2015, article: Portugal's Portucel Soporcel Sets Sights on U.S. Fuel Pellet Market.

The estimated $110 million plant will process woody forest material into of 460,000 tons per year of fuel pellets and will benefit from the very favorable conditions in terms of Greenwood County's forestry raw materials and available energy.

The company said before construction started that it had already secured sales of 70% for its production through the signing of 10-year fixed-priced supply contracts, with the sales targeted entirely to the European industrial market.

The plant is being built by local contractor Moss Construction Management (Greenville, South Carolina) and will be one of the largest mills in the U.S. Some 70 jobs will be created, and the new venture is expected to generate over $80 million in sales annually.

Construction is estimated to be 90-95% complete, and the company is currently hiring for all available positions.

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