2017 International Forest Industries Magazines May 2017 SHOW Special | Page 14

LOGGING & BIOMASS NEWS
Drax bids to acquire two distressed US pellet plants
Drax has been notified that
the sellers of Texas Pellets and
Louisiana Pellets have delayed
the processes for the sale out
of bankruptcy of these assets,
originally scheduled for 1 and 2
March. It is expected that these
processes will continue during
March.
Drax previously notified the
market of its participation in these
processes and had submitted
initial cash bids for the operating
assets of Texas Pellets and
Louisiana Pellets. Drax remains an
interested party in the acquisition
of these assets.
Drax has indicated its
intention to expand its self-
supply compressed wood pellet
operations to support 20-30% of its
generation requirement.
Texas Pellets, Inc. and German
Pellets Texas, LLC and Louisiana
Pellets, Inc. and German Pellets
Louisiana, LLC are currently going
through Chapter 11 bankruptcy
processes in the United States
and are seeking purchasers for
substantially all of their assets
Fibria starts construction on intermodal terminal
Fibria has started construction on
an intermodal terminal located
in Aparecida do Taboado, Mato
Grosso do Sul, Brazil, which will
ship the pulp produced at its new
plant in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso
do Sul to the Macuco Terminal at
the Port of Santos in São Paulo,
from where it will be exported to
clients in Asia, Europe and the
United States
The intermodal terminal
will have annual pulp shipment
capacity of 1.95 million tons.
Construction is slated to be
concluded in July 2017. The startup
of Fibria’s second pulp production
line in Três Lagoas is scheduled for
early in the 4Q 2017.
Fibria’s investment in the new
Aparecida do Taboado Intermodal
Terminal is included in the overall
amount, of R$7.5 billion ($2.4
billion), to be invested in the
Horizonte 2 Project. The terminal
will adopt the structural standard
of integrated terminals located
in other regions of Brazil, which
serve freight hubs to expedite
the use of broad-gauge railroads
(rail structure that allows freight
cars and locomotives to travel at
higher speeds).Aligned with the
company’s social development
strategy, the terminal’s
construction will create 220 direct
and indirect jobs.
Once operational, the Terminal
in Aparecida will strengthen the
Midwest logistics corridor.
Australian Paper contributes almo