Two of Domtar’s values are collaboration and entrepreneurship, qualities the Nekoosa, Wisconsin, mill recently demonstrated via a partnership that turned a costly sourcing challenge into an innovative project with environmental, operational and economic benefits. Partnering with Omya, a leading global producer of essential minerals and a worldwide distributor of specialty materials, the mill built an on-site plant to ensure a reliable source of precipitated calcium carbonate, a key papermaking ingredient.
The new PCC plant came online in September 2024, solving several supply challenges.
The Challenge: Regional Closure Affected PCC Supply Chain
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.
The change in suppliers disrupted both mills, leading to:
- higher environmental impacts
- delays in paper machine schedules and customer service
- chronic supply shortages
- unsustainable material expenses
“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.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting the paper industry by providing sustainable, high-quality solutions that enhance production efficiency and reduce environmental impact,” says Marty Sheehan, Omya’s North American sales director. “We are dedicated to innovation and partnerships that drive the future of paper manufacturing.”
The Results: Improved Sustainability, Streamlined Production, Cost Competitiveness
The new PCC plant offers significant benefits:
Environmental:
- 15,000-short ton annual reduction in Domtar’s carbon footprint by:
- reducing transportation by more than 1,180,000 miles
- reusing carbon dioxide from Nekoosa’s lime kiln and recovery boiler exhaust stacks for PCC production
- Long-term sustainability improvements
Efficiency:
- Improved PCC utilization, operating efficiencies and customer service
- Increased flexibility in paper machine scheduling, and elimination of unnecessary grade change losses
- Maximized PCC usage and expanded innovative grade development
- Improved personnel time efficiency
Economic:
- Enhanced ability to fully utilize PCC, optimize operating efficiencies and ensure customer service
- Supporting Nekoosa and Rothschild’s cost competitiveness
- Safety of supply
“By executing this high-ROI, three-year project with a strategic partner, Nekoosa now has an unlimited supply of PCC on-site that allows for flexibility in our papermaking schedules and effective grade development,” says Jason McCauley, Nekoosa mill general manager.