Komatsu Forest has revealed that it has received an order from Fibria to supply 100 percent of the pulpwood harvesting equipment for its new production line that will increase the annual capacity of its pulp mill in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul state in Brazil to 3.05 million tonnes.

Komatsu Forest Brazil, a subsidiary of Sweden-headed Komatsu Forest, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-headed global heavy machinery and equipment major Komatsu Ltd, has revealed that it has received a record order for forest machinery from Fibria, a Brazil-headed eucalyptus pulp producer.
– This is the biggest package ever in Komatsu Forest history, and we are glad that Fibria shows confidence on Komatsu brand and choose Komatsu as an important partner for the whole Fibria group. This is a big challenge that we are ready to face, said Lonard dos Santos, Marketing and Sales manager of Komatsu Forest Brazil.
Komatsu will supply 100 percent of the harvesting and forwarding technology to Fibria’s pulp capacity expansion project at its Três Lagoas facility known as Horizonte 2 in Mato Grosso do Sul state. Deliveries have started and will continue in 2016 and 2017.
– We have acquired the whole fleet of harvesters and forwarders from Komatsu Forest for the harvest that will supply the Horizonte 2 Project. We will have harvesters, which will harvest and bark the eucalyptus trees on the field, and forwarders, which will transport the wood to the truck that will take it to the plant. These machines were chosen because they can deliver a very good performance with a very competitive production costs, said Aires Galhardo, Chief Forestry Operations for Fibria.
Though the number of machines has not been disclosed, the deal which also includes a full training package with simulators is estimated by Fibria to be worth in excess of R$100 million (≈US$25.3 million). Fibria will use Komatsu simulators (similar to flight simulators) and all the experience of Fibria and Komatsu in training forest machine operators and mechanics. Training will start in October.
– We offer training for employees to operate the new equipment safely. For this, we will use 3D simulators that will simulate the operation in progress even before it actually happens, using all the know-how and experience of Fibria in training forest harvesting operators and mechanics, said Tomás Balistiero, General Manager – Operations of Fibria in Mato Grosso do Sul.
Construction work on Fibria’s R$8.7 billion (≈US$2.2 billion) Horizonte 2 Project began in 2015 and, according to Fibria, is advancing on schedule and expected to be operational in the final quarter of 2017. With the expansion, the Três Lagoas unit will increase its annual pulp production capacity by 1.75 million tonnes to a total annual capacity 3.05 million tonnes of pulp making it one of the largest pulp producers in the world.
Facts
About Fibria
With a production capacity of 5.3 million tonnes of eucalyptus pulp per annum, Brazil-based Fibria is one of the largest global producers of eucalyptus pulp. It operates pulp mills in Aracruz (Espírito Santo), Jacareí (São Paulo) and Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul), as well as in Eunápolis (Bahia), where it operates Veracel in a joint operation with Stora Enso. Fibria has 969 000 hectares (ha) of forest estate of which 568 000 ha is plantation forest and 338 000 ha of environmental preservation and conservation areas. In 2015, Fibria announced the expansion of its Três Lagoas unit, which will receive a new line with annual pulp production capacity of 1.75 million tonnes and is slated for startup in the fourth quarter of 2017.