Pulp & Paper Industry Spending Brisk at Mills in U.S. Southeast

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Pulp and paper mills across the Southeast market region have racked up close to $800 million in capital and maintenance spending plans for 2012-13. The Southeast market region is comprised of Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi and is home to 70 pulp and paper mills that make pulp, paper or paperboard from wood chips or recycled material. Industrial Info has identified more than 80 individual project spending plans at mills across the region that range in investment value from $500,000 to as high as $100 million. Future spending plans are mostly geared toward rebuilds and major upgrades of existing assets.

In Georgia, the total of all planned expenditures has an estimated value of $275 million. A $95 million investment to add a new dissolving pulp line at a mill in Jesup is the largest project on record in the state. There are 24 mills in Georgia that employ a total of more than 7,500 workers.

Mills in Tennessee, so far, have investment plans totaling $39 million in spending, including a $20 million woodyard project. Domtar Corporation (NYSE:UFS) (Montreal, Quebec), Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) (Lake Forest, Illinois) and AbitibiBowater Incorporated (NYSE:ABH) (Montreal) are among the owners of a dozen mills across the state.

Plans for a $79 million expansion of a specialty pulp mill and a $38 million investment to add a turbine generator and a chlorine dioxide system are among the major capital expenditures being planned at mills in Florida. Industrial Info has identified 18 projects totaling $168 million within the state. There are nine mills in Florida that employ more than 4,000 workers.

Figures for Alabama show spending plans that total $278 million spread across 24 capital and maintenance projects. Maintenance spending accounts for $26 million in expenditures from seven planned shutdowns. Alabama is home to 17 mills, including mills in Selma and Prattville, both owned by industry giant International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) (Memphis, Tennessee).

There are eight pulp and paper mills in Mississippi. Mill owners include Georgia-Pacific LLC (Atlanta, Georgia), Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) (Federal Way, Washington), International Paper and a few others. Planned expenditures are expected to increase from $10 million as 2012 unfolds.

Planned expenditures at mills across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for 2012 and beyond is currently estimated at more than $5.8 billion.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, 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.