Kadant Inc. has recently received orders from two customers in China for paper recycling systems totaling about $7.3 million.
Lee & Man Paper International Ltd. ordered a complete stock-preparation system and related approach-flow equipment valued at $4.0 million.
Dongguan Nine Dragons Paper Industries Co. Ltd. placed orders totaling $3.3 million for a stock-preparation system and additional pulping equipment.
All these systems will be supplied by the company's Kadant Black Clawson Inc. subsidiary, and are scheduled for installation and startup by the end of this year.
Lee & Man purchased the stock-preparation equipment to process fiber for a new paper machine that will produce linerboard and corrugated board at its Hong Kong mill. The system's pulping, screening, refining, and cleaning equipment will recover usable fiber from recycled corrugated board.
The stock-preparation system ordered by Nine Dragons will process recycled corrugated material to supply a linerboard machine being installed in a new mill near Shanghai. Nine Dragons has also purchased pulpers for a new white-board paper machine at its Dongguan City mill located near Hong Kong.
"China's growing economy is creating demand for equipment that can recycle fiber used to produce an assortment of packaging materials," said William A. Rainville, chairman and CEO of Kadant. "While traveling in China a few months ago, I had the opportunity to visit several linerboard mills. The facilities are extremely impressive, employing leading-edge technologies from all over the world. We're proud that our stock-prep systems, which play a critical role in the production of top-quality recycled linerboard, have been selected for each of these major mill projects."