Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) are in the business of manufacture and marketing of Paper, Paper Board, Cement and Generation of Power. The installed capacity of Paper is 400000 tons per annum (TPA), Paper Board is 200000 Tons per annum (TPA), and Cement is 900 tons per day (TPD). Power Generation Capacity is 169.12 MW consists of 133.62 of Turbo Generators (TG's) and 35.50 MW of Wind Farm. Generation of Power is primarily for self-consumption and surplus is sold.
The Company is the largest bagasse, an agricultural residue, based paper unit in India. The company is in the business of manufacturing and marketing of newsprint and printing & writing papers. The products are being marketed throughout the country and also being exported to 30 countries around the world. The company's Newsprint and Printing & Writing Paper plant is located at Kagithapuram in Karur District of Tamil Nadu. The company's Paper Board plant is located at Mondipatti village, Manaparai taluk, Trichy District of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu in April 1979 as a public limited company to produce Newsprint and Printing & Writing Paper (PWP) using bagasse as the primary raw material. The plant located at Pugalur in Karur District was commissioned during 1984 with an initial capacity of 90,000 tonnes per annum.
During the year 1994-95, the company undertook expansion programme and doubled their capacity from 90,000 tpa to 1,80,000 tpa. During the year 1998-99, the company signed a MoU with Quena Newsprint, Egypt for providing technical assistance and support for erection of a Newsprint and Paper Mill in Egypt. The mill was successfully commissioned during the year 2000-01.
During the year 2000-01, the company introduced a new versatile all purpose cut size paper under the brand name TNPL OS 2000. Also, they formally launched 'TNPL Canefields' copier paper in the Australian market. In March 2001, the company increased the wind farm capacity from 15 MW to 18 MW, by installing 4 nos of 750 KW each wind turbines at Devarkulam.
During the year 2002-03, the company commissioned the Bio-methanation plant to treat around 12000 cu m of biogas (methane) per day, to be used as fuel in the limekiln. They completed the upgrades of both Beloit and Voith paper machines and production capacity increased from 180,000 tpa to 230,000 tpa.
During the year, the company launched a new product named Hitech Maplitho plus with 90% brightness and improved optical properties. Also, they entered into a long-term agreement with Terra Energy Ltd, a subsidiary company of Thiru Arooran Sugars for procuring bagasse in exchange of steam.
During the year 2003-04, the company upgraded the paper machines and pulp mills at a capital outlay of Rs 140 and increased the installed capacity form 180000 Mts to 230000 Mts per annum. In March 2004, the company installed 3 nos of 1250 kw capacity wind turbines at Devarkulam, thereby enhancing the overall wind farm capacity from 18 MW to 21.75 MW.
During the year 2004-05, the company introduced two new products, namely, TNPL Offset Printing and TNPL Elegant Printing. They entered into a long term agreement with Tamil Nadu Forest Plantation Corporation Ltd for continuous supply of pulpwood. In February 2006, the company increased the wind farm capacity from 21.75 MW to 28 MW by installing 5 Nos. of 1250 KW wind energy generators at Devarkulam.
During the year 2006-07, the company installed 6 wind electric generators of 1250 KVA each and increased the wind farm capacity from 28 MW to 35.5 MW. They installed a 200 tpd Cut Pack line during the year and increased the conversion capacity from 150 tpd to 350 tpd.
The company received Special Export Award from CAPEXIL in recognition of outstanding export performance. They received 'Best Energy Conservation Award' for the year 2007 from Government of Tamil Nadu. They also received TERI Corporate Environmental Award 2008 for efforts towards environmental management and innovative initiatives among corporate.
The company installed new 300 tpd state-of-the-art Hardwood Pulp Line with ECF bleaching and a 500 tpd ECF bleach plant for Chemical Bagasse Pulp with supporting system. They also set up a state-of-art Clonal Propagation and Research Centre (CPRC) for producing about 1.5 crore high quality clones per annum.
The company has initiated action for which would augment the paper production capacity from 2,45,000 tonnes per annum to 4,00,000 tonnes per annum utilizing the surplus pulp generated under the Mill Development Plan. The company is also undertaking the Life cycle Extension programme, under which the Paper Machine 1 installed during 1985 will be upgraded.
The company plans to increase the plantation area by about 15,000 acres per annum to reach the target of one-lakh acres by the year 2012-13. They also propose to install a 400 tpd dry process cement plant within the factory complex converting the waste fly ash and lime sludge generated in the factory, into high quality cement.
During FY2014, the company began work on setting up a state-of-the-art Multilayer Double Coated Board Plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes at a Greenfield site in Manaparai Taluk, Trichy District (Tamil Nadu State). The capital outlay for this project is estimated at Rs.1500 cr. and is scheduled to be completed by December 2015.
A De-inking pulp plant with a capacity of 300 tonnes per day was commissioned during the FY14 to augment in-house pulp production. A 125 tonnes per hour capacity high-pressure boiler and a 41MW capacity Turbo Generator (TG) were commissioned during the year. As a consequence, the company is now almost self-sufficient in power.
A 100 tpd Wet Ground Calcium Carbonate (WGCC) plant has been completed on a Build, Own Operate basis (BOO) through M/s OMYA, Switzerland. The total requirement of WGCC for manufacture of paper will be met from this source at a substantially lower cost.
During FY 2013-14, installation and commissioning of one number of High Pressure CFBC Boiler of 105 ata, 125 tph along with one number of 41 MW TG to replace three numbers of old 44 ata, 60 tph, Power Boilers and 2 number of TGs totaling 18.5 MW under 'Ravamping of Steam and Power System' (RSPS) was done. It resulted in reduction of imported coal by 4598 MT thereby saving Rs.233 lakhs apart from meeting the plant requirement.
During FY 2013-14, about 8,474 acres of plantation have been raised through Farm forestry and Captive plantation. TNPL has achieved the target of 1.00 lakh acres by end of 2013-14.
TNPL has installed a series of rainwater harvesting structures in the factory campus. With the implementation of various water conservation measures, fresh water consumption has been reduced to 42 Kl. per ton of paper- the lowest in Industry. Continuous efforts are made to further reduce water consumption.
During FY 2013-14, TNPL has set up a state-of-the-art Deinking Pulp line (DIP) of capacity 300 tpd. The plant was commissioned on July 1, 2013. The plant is in continuous operation since then. The commissioning of DIP line is an important milestone in the history of the company. The DIP line gives tremendous flexibility in managing the raw material supply chain to meet the annual production target.
During FY 2013-14, to revamp its Steam and Power system, TNPL has installed and commissioned a new Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion (CFBC) boiler of 125 tph steam generation capacity replacing three old low pressure boilers of 60 tph each. Along with the CFBC boiler, a new Turbo Generator (TG) set of 41 MW power generation capacities has also been installed replacing two old TG sets of total capacity18 MW.
In FY 2013-14, TNPL entered into an agreement with M/s.Omya India Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of M/s.Omya, Switzerland, to set up Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) and Wet Ground Calcium Carbonate (WGCC) plant on Build, Own and Operate (BOO) basis. OMYA has commissioned the WGCC plant in January 2014 and since then supplying WGCC about 100 tonnes per day (tpd). The commissioning of PCC plant is targeted for July 2014. By sourcing PCC and WGCC from OMYA's satellite plant, the company will be able to get fillers of consistent quality at lower cost.
During FY2015, the Company has acquired 38.40 acres land with an Industrial shed measuring 11,248 Sq.Mts at Mayanur in Karur District for setting up paper conversion center and setting up units related to paper industry.
During FY 2015, to improve the availability of pulpwood, TNPL has implemented two plantation programmes i.e., Farm Forestry & Captive Plantation. High-yielding seedlings and clones are supplied to farmers at subsidized rates. To conserve virgin fibre and wood, the Company developed a new product namely 'GreenPal' produced using only bagasse pulp and recycled de-inked pulp during the year.
In FY 2016, the Company has set up a state-of-the-art Multilayer Double Coated Board Plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 MT per annum as a green field project in Mondipatti village, Manaparai taluk, Trichy District. The project features a Board machine complex to produce 200,000 MT per annum multilayer coated board, a 30 MW Power plant, other support infrastructures like Power intake sub-station, Water treatment, Waste water treatment, air compressors, Mill wide air conditioning system, etc. The Greenfield project with the above features has been executed in 22 months - a record for any project in Indian Paper Industry. Test run was started in February 2016. The capacity of Lime sludge and Fly Ash Management (LSFM) plant was increased from 600 tpd to 900 tpd. The Project was completed in a record time of 9 months from the date of commencement of the Project. In addition, the Company has setup a 'Conversion Centre of Paper and Packaging Board (CCPPB) Unit' in the 38.40 acres of land in Mayanur in Karur District. An industrial shed measuring 1,20,000 square feet has been made ready for occupation.
TNPL has set up a 600 tpd. Cement plant for producing high-grade cement from mill wastes viz Lime Sludge and Fly ash. Now, the capacity has been increased to 900 tpd. TNPL is the First Paper Mill in the country to have set up a cement plant within the factory premises to produce cement from mill wastes in FY 2016.
Two bio-methanation plants consisting of four numbers of UASB reactors set up within the factory premises have generated cumulatively 75.66 lakh of methane gas during 2015-2016. The methane gas is consumed in limekilns in replacement of furnace oil and power boilers in replacement of coal. With this, TNPL has saved usage of 4438.86 kl of high cost furnace oil and 238.23 MT of imported coal during the FY 2016. Besides, it has established a separate biotechnology and bio-energy Research Center for producing tissue culture seedlings.
As part of the growth plan, TNPL has embarked on a Mill Expansion Plan (MEP) in Unit II for producing 1,65,000 MT of paper per annum by way of installing a state-of- the art Paper Machine, a 400 tpd chemical hardwood pulp mill with chemical recovery boiler, augmentation of captive power plant and wastewater treatment plant and other auxiliaries at a total capital outlay of Rs.2100 crores.
TNPL has consumed 96,452 MT of lime sludge for cement manufacturing in conservation of 62,299 MT of limestone in FY 2016-17. It has established a separate biotechnology and bio-energy Research Centre for producing tissue culture seedlings.
Two bio-methanation plants consisting of four numbers of UASB reactors set up within the factory premises have generated cumulatively 68.52 lakh of methane gas during 2016-17. With this, TNPL has saved usage of 3864 kl of high cost furnace oil and 330 MT of imported coal during the year.
TNPL has procured 60,034 MT of pulpwood from the plantation sources during 2016-17. It has established a Clonal Propagation & Research Centre (CPRC) within the factory area for producing and supplying high yield seedlings and clones to farmers at subsidized rate.
In FY 2017-18, a new Roll grinding machine was planned for installation in TNPL Unit II for regular regrinding of the Board Machine rolls (rubber covered and steel covered rolls including the dryer cylinders), at a capital outlay of 25 Crore. Company had four nos of UASB reactors in the Bio-methanation plant handling a hydraulic load of 15,000 to 16,000 m3/day and COD load of 75,000 to 85,000 kg/day. In order to improve the biogas plant efficiency and reduce organic load on forward system, two more bioreactors were installed.
During 2017-18, the recovery boiler was provided with a twin chamber Electrostatic precipitator (ESP) to control the particulate emissions to less than 50 mg/NM3. An additional ESP chamber was planned and installed, so as to improve the generated overall environmental efficiency of the Recovery boiler. The project was commissioned in March 2018.
Two bio-methanation plants consisting of four numbers of UASB reactors set up within the factory premises have generated cumulatively 63.26 lakh m3 of methane gas during 2017 - 2018. The methane gas is consumed in limekilns in replacement of furnace oil and power boilers in replacement of coal.
During 2017-18, TNPL has procured 30,196 MT of pulpwood from the plantation sources and about 10.00 lakh MT of pulpwood have been procured from the plantation sources in last 8 years. In order to produce and supply high yield seedlings and clones to farmers at subsidized rate, TNPL has established a world class Clonal Propagation & Research Centre (CPRC) within the factory area. From this centre, TNPL has produced 92.00 lakh plants and supplied 64.42 lakh plants to the farmers at subsidized rates during 2017-18.
The Company installed and commissioned additional sheet cutter facility of capacity 100 tonnes/ day, at a capital outlay of Rs.10 Crore in October, 2019. The Chlorine dioxide Plant in Unit I of 15 TPD was upgraded in August, 2019. In 2020-21, the revamping of Biogas reactor in Company's Unit I commissioned in July, 2020.
The Company embarked on a Mill Expansion Plan (MEP) to enhance the capacity of TNPL Unit II by 1,65,000 MT per annum, by installing a Paper Machine along with captive pulping facility, at an estimated capital outlay of Rs 2520 Crore in 2022. After commissioning various sub-sections in the project scope like Chipper, Chlorine dioxide plant, Oxygen generation plant, Recovery Boiler, Evaporator and Recausticizing the trial production in Pulp Mill commenced from January 31, 2022.
In continuation to the trial production commenced at the modern Pulp mill along with Chemical Recovery Island at Unit-II, the pulp production was further optimized and the production was ramped up to the rated capacity. The balance of plants like Chips Processing system, Chemical preparation systems including Chlorine Di-Oxide plant, augmentation of existing Water treatment and Effluent treatment plants were also commissioned, optimized with the pulp mill production rate in 2023. The projects implemented under Mill Expansion Plan (MEP) of TNPL Unit II - Phase One features latest technology in all the areas with emphasis on least environmental impact and high energy efficiency. The latest generation Integrated Chlorine dioxide plant with nil effluent is in operation. A system for collection and incineration of Non-condensable gases, is in operation, to make the mill odour free.
