Nip Impressions logo
Fri, Mar 29, 2024 02:36
Visitor
Home
Click here for Pulp & Paper Radio International
Subscription Central
Must reads for pulp and paper industry professionals
Search
My Profile
Login
Logout
Management Side
Chinese paper company will 'adjust its business plans' at proposed Chesterfield, Va. facility

CHESTERFIELD, Virginia (From Richmond.com) -- Tranlin Inc., the U.S. division of a China-based company that announced plans in 2014 to open a massive $2 billion paper products mill in Chesterfield County, is pushing back its construction plans for the project.

The company said in a brief statement late Tuesday that it will "adjust its business plans in the U.S. accordingly" now that its parent company, Shandong Tranlin Paper Co. Ltd., has opened a factory in China that uses latest-generation technology to make the same paper products.

A spokeswoman for Tranlin's U.S. subsidiary, which is based in Charlottesville, said the announcement does not mean the company is canceling the Chesterfield project, but the construction timeline is being extended.

"The company wanted to provide an update of the project status," Tranlin spokeswoman Lisa Randall said. She said environmental studies are still underway for the Chesterfield project.

When Tranlin first announced plans in 2014 to open the factory on an 850-acre site near Willis Road mostly within the James River Industrial Center, the company said it expected the plant to be fully operational by 2020.

The company, and state and local officials, said the factory eventually would employ about 2,000 people.

Tranlin did not announce a new completion date Tuesday, nor did it announce any changes in employment projections.

Since the initial announcement in 2014 and a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site in 2015, the project has hit delays, and the company last year deferred the withdrawal of $2 million in state grants for the project until at least 2018. The money is part of a larger $20 million grant administered by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

In March, Tranlin announced that its top U.S. executive, Jerry Z. Peng, had left the company and that another executive, Dong (Donald) Lan, had been named as acting CEO.

In its statement Tuesday, the company said the pulping, paper-making and biostimulant fertilizer manufacturing facility opened by its parent company in China is starting up ahead of schedule.

"This facility demonstrates Tranlin's most advanced, proprietary, third-generation technologies, machinery and processes," Tranlin said. "Early indications from performance testing show that there will be significant efficiencies that will impact all aspects of Tranlin's U.S. business plans."

The original plans for the U.S. factory were based on an older generation of technology, the company said. Its Chesterfield plant would make paper products such as tissue, napkins and disposable plates using agricultural byproducts from farms, such as leftover wheat and corn stalks, instead of using fiber derived from trees.

"Because the company wants to be able to incorporate these same efficiencies into its U.S. manufacturing operations, the company has extended the construction timeline for its facility," Tranlin said. "Environmental studies and work to finalize project requirements continue."

Tranlin, which employs 25 people in Virginia, said it will be "redeploying some resources to assist with research."

The company, which also is going by the name Vastly, said it is continuing to market and sell its paper products such as tableware and tissue, along with fertilizer products, in the U.S.


Printer-friendly format

 





Powered by Bondware
News Publishing Software

The browser you are using is outdated!

You may not be getting all you can out of your browsing experience
and may be open to security risks!

Consider upgrading to the latest version of your browser or choose on below: