Weyerhaeuser Staring at $1 Billion Investment in Recovery Boilers

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Last week, representatives from recovery boiler manufacturing firms convened in the state of Washington to pitch their wares before a panel from forest products giant, Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY)(Federal Way, Washington). The company invited boiler vendors to the Weyerhaeuser Technology Center, in advance of a plan to replace aging recovery boilers at some of the company's pulp and paper mills in the U.S. and Canada. Weyerhaeuser has 27 recovery boilers in operation at 18 mills between the two countries, including four at Longview Fiber Company, a unit of Weyerhaeuser. Estimates place replacement cost, including auxiliary equipment, at $100 to $150 million, depending on site characteristics. Since 2000, Weyerhaeuser has started up two recovery boilers and has plans to bring new units online through 2010. By that time, the company's investment in new recovery boilers could potentially exceed $1 billion.

Industry sources have indicated that a recovery boiler, operating under normal conditions and maintained to optimum standards, has a life expectancy of 25-30 years. However, many of the industry's boilers currently in operation predate 1970. Though some may have experienced rebuilds that may help to extend the life of the unit, advancements in technology, combined with stringent environmental regulations, could ultimately lead to the replacement of some units. Delivery of recovery boilers from the date a purchase order is issued could take up to 24 months.

In a 1995 project spending report released by Industrialinfo.com, Weyerhaeuser was in the early planning stages of a project for the installation of a new recovery boiler at a mill in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. By 1998, the project had moved into the construction phase, and the boiler started up in 2001. Another project report, released in the fall of 2001, detailed a proposal for a new boiler at Weyerhaeuser's mill in Dryden, Ontario, that would significantly reduce emissions. That unit came online earlier this year and was provided by Kvaerner.

Industrialinfo.com has developed a Black Liquor Recovery Boiler Database, featuring company name, plant location, boiler manufacturer, temperature, pounds per hour, psi, and online date for over 200 black liquor recovery boilers at U.S. pulp and paper mills. For more information contact Industrialinfo.com's Member Center at 1-800-762-3361.

Industrilainfo.com coverage of the forest products industry in the United States and Canada includes data on over 3,300 major manufacturing plants that produce pulp, paper, and wood products. Industry sectors include tissue, newsprint, coated and uncoated papers, packaging and industrial converting, lumber, plywood, and reconstituted wood products, such as particleboard, medium density fiberboard (mdf) and oriented strand board (osb).