Portugal's Portucel Soporcel Sets Sights on U.S. Fuel Pellet Market

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Portuguese pulp and paper maker Grupo Portucel Soporcel (Setubal, Portugal) is preparing to enter the U.S. fuel pellet market with its planned pellet mill in Greenwood County, South Carolina.

Last month, the company broke ground on the Colombo Energy Pellet Plant, an estimated $110 million project in the Greenwood County Emerald Road Industrial Corridor.

The plant will process woody forest material into 460 000 tons per year of fuel pellets. It will benefit from Greenwood County's available energy and forestry for raw materials. The company says it already has secured sales for 70% of its production through the signing of 10-year, fixed-priced supply contracts. These sales are targeted entirely to the European industrial market.

Construction is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2016 and create 70 local jobs.

The company also is weighing the proposed construction of a $2.3 billion pulp mill in Mozambique. If approved, construction is not expected to begin until 2020.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.