Marcal to upgrade deinking operation

Soundview Paper Holdings, an affiliate of Atlas Holdings LLC, Greenwich, Conn., has announced that it will invest several million dollars to upgrade its deinking operations at its Marcal Paper Mills’ facility in Elmwood Park, N.J. According to published reports, the company is considering an investment of between $10 million and $12 million in the paper mill’s deinking system.

Soundview acquired Marcal Paper Mills in 2012. The company closed on a $25.45-million Grown NJ grant in late 2013 to help upgrade the mill.

The decision to invest and upgrade the paper mill’s deinking operations has resulted in the company pushing back its earlier plan to build a cogeneration plant at the site.

Last year, Soundview solicited proposals from vendors to build a 20-megawatt cogeneration power plant on its property to reduce its power costs. At that time, the company estimated the cost of the cogen plant at $25 million. However, the price of constructing the power plant escalated to $40 million because of increases in the cost of materials and labor.

Instead, Soundview will invest money in incremental cleaning and screening equipment. The facility takes in a range of sorted office paper, which it converts into tissue and towel products.

According to Woodland Park, N.J.'s The Record, by upgrading the deinking system, Soundview will be able to lower the quality of the material it can accept to include curbside-generated mixed paper. A source says the mill currently produces around 150,000 tons of recycled fiber per year, but with the new equipment the mill will be able to increase its production to 175,000 tons per year at a lower cost.