Saica group has inaugurated its first biomass plant at its paper mill in Venizel, France
Ramón Alejandro, president of Saica group, received the representative of the Aisne regional government, Nicolas Basselier together with the president of the Council of Soisson, Jean-Marie Carré and Bruno Frimat, Deputy Regional Director of Ademe, as well as mayors of the region of Venizel, Soissons, Missy-sur -Aisne and Bucy-le-long.
With a 41 million euros investment as of today, and supported by Ademe and the Région Hauts-de-France, the biomass plant uses recycled wood and rejections from the production process to meet the demand of the steam process. The biomass plant, an example of circular economy, avoids sending waste to landfill by giving a second life to recycled wood.
The biomass plant generates all the required energy to operate the Saica Venizel paper mill, using 75 000 tonnes of discarded wood and 26 000 tonnes of by-products generated on the paper and pulp production process, which were formerly discarded. This way the plant displays its commitment to the principles of the circular economy: 280 000 tonnes of paper and cardboard are gathered in a radius of 150 kilometers to produce recycled paper, while 75 000 tonnes of discarded wood are collected in a radius of 80 kilometers to produce energy.
The new equipment fully contributes to sustainable development through:
• A 71% decrease in on site CO2 emissions (46 500 tonnes every year).
• An 89% reduction in consumption of natural gas, replaced by energy-from-waste.
The project was awarded by Ademe with the title Biomass Energy for Industry, Agriculture and Tertiary Sectors 2016, BCIAT (Biomasse Chaleur Industrie Agriculture Tertiaire) in the Energy Fund Framework. The biomass boiler will help sustain Venizel plant, a true showcase for Saica group, recognized by its high-performance paper quality and its environmental efficiency.
The biomass boiler shows Saica group commitment to a sustainable production, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by United Nations, particularly Goal Nº 12. At the same time, this project aims at having the minimum environmental impact in the region, while using of the best available technologies following the principles of the circular economy.
In France, Saica has 22 production sites, all activities combined, and employs nearly 2,300 direct employees. In the Hauts-de-France, the group is located in Venizel (Saica Paper and Saica Pack), Doullens (Saica Pack) and Poix-de-Picardie (Saica Pack). These 4 sites represent 486 direct jobs.
About Saica Group
Saica is one of the largest European players in the development and production of recycled paper for corrugated cardboard, with a production of 3.3 million tonnes of paper. With more than 10,000 employees across Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, UK, Ireland, Turkey, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, Saica Group has four business areas: production of recycled paper for corrugated board (Saica Paper), waste management and environmental services (Saica Natur), production of corrugated board packaging (Saica Pack) and flexible packaging (Saica Flex). The turnover of the multinational is nearly 4,161 million Euros (aggregate sales, 31.12.18).
