In the presence of Mr. Emad AlMuhaidib, Founding Board Member of MEPCO, Eng. Mohamed Abdulaziz Bukhari, Executive General Manager of Economic Cities and Special Zones Authority (ECZA), Mr. Jameeel Alghamdi, Executive Director of National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, and senior representatives from King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), and TOSCOTEC, Italy, supplier of the tissue production line; the Middle East Paper Co. (‘MEPCO’), the region’s leading vertically integrated paper manufacturer, celebrated the inauguration of its 60,000 tons per annum tissue jumbo roll manufacturing facility in King Abdullah Economic City “KAEC”, The groundbreaking marks the commencement of earth moving activities which will be followed by a series of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering activities to ensure readiness to receive the tissue production line in Q2 2022.
Eng. Sami Al Safran, President of MEPCO, commented: “We celebrated today starting of construction works on-site of this milestone project. This project has multiple dimensions that extend beyond its economic value. We aim to reduce Saudi Arabia’s imports of tissue products through building and expanding our capabilities locally, boosting the contribution of paper products sector’s contribution to the non-oil segment of GDP. The facility will employ more than 100 employees in its first year of operations.
Our aspirations are fully aligned with the Saudi 2030 visions,’ climate change objectives. During the designing phase, we marked reducing the project’s environmental footprint as a top priority. We took several pivotal decisions to ensure the lowest possible environmental impact of this project. This includes usage of natural gas to power the facility and ensuring the implementation of the latest technologies to reduce air and water emissions. The facility will use desalinated water, and the discharged water will be routed back to the treatment facility in KAEC to ensure maximum efficiency and preservation of natural resources.
We are keeping a close eye on possible impact of supply chain challenges and logistical bottlenecks the world faces nowadays. The project team will deploy additional resources whenever necessary to ensure meeting highest standards”.
About MEPCO
MEPCO is considered to be one of the largest producers of paperboard in the Middle East, with a production capacity of half a million metric tons.
The company produces a diverse range of CONTAINER BOARD grades (High Performance Fluting, Test Liner, Semi-Chemical Fluting, Kraft Liner Board, Dual Use & White Top Test Liner) along with other grades of INDUSTRIAL PAPER (Core board, Plasterboard Liner, & Absorbent Kraft) on three paper machines.
MEPCO’s strategic location and proximity to Jeddah sea port provides the company with the ability to deliver its products to a wide array of markets within a very short lead time. The company is present mainly in the Middle East, North & East Africa along with the Indian Subcontinent and a few European Markets.
