In 2020, the PCC plant that supplied multiple Wisconsin paper mills, including Domtar’s Rothschild and Nekoosa facilities, closed.
PCC is a vital component of paper, comprising up to 25 percent of the final sheet content. As a result, PCC previously sourced approximately 10 miles from our Nekoosa mill required shipping from a supplier located 200 miles away in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The high water content of PCC when shipped over this distance meant the cost to transfer the product exceeded the value of the ingredient itself.
“Domtar had to adapt to these sudden changes in availability and cost of its PCC supply,” says Quality Solutions Manager Kurt Mehlberg, who championed the project.
The Solution: Build an On-site PCC Plant
Thinking creatively, Domtar and Omya researched constructing a four-story PCC plant at the Nekoosa mill. Studies by Omya and AFRY, an engineering consulting firm serving the pulp and paper industry, confirmed Nekoosa as a viable location for such a plant, offering proper carbon dioxide content, secondary CO2 supply options, favorable logistics and sufficient product storage capability.
In July 2022, the companies agreed to build a 27,500 dry-ton-per-year Omya-designed, -owned and -operated PCC plant within the Nekoosa mill’s existing footprint. The plant would supply PCC to the Nekoosa and Rothschild mills, in addition to external customers. Central procurement was instrumental through the entire project, ensuring a reliable PCC supply chain to the mills while facilitating collaborative capital project development, approval and execution.
Both companies invested significant capital for engineering, permitting, demolition, foundation work, utilities and CO2 supply, as well as PCC manufacturing, storage and unloading facilities. Construction was complete by July 2024, and the PCC plant became operational in September 2024.