US-based Minerals Technologies (MTI) has signed an agreement with Zhejiang Zhengda Paper Group to build a satellite precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) plant in Zhejiang Province, China.
Expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2015, the facility will produce around 50,000mt of coating grade PCC to use in packaging paper, according to Minerals Technologies.
At the satellite plant, MTI will produce OPACARB coating PCC, which is said to specifically designed for the Chinese packaging market.
The coating grade PCC will allow Zhengda Paper to reduce the use of other expensive raw materials such as imported clay, latex, optical brighteners and finely ground GCC.
Minerals Technologies chairman and chief executive officer Joseph Muscari said the company is looking forward to a long, mutually rewarding relationship with Zhengda Paper.
"This agreement with the Zhengda Paper Group is important in that it is Minerals Technologies' first on-site satellite plant to produce PCC for the coated packaging market," Muscari added.
By working with the paper company, Minerals Technologies helps it cut down costs, upgrade quality, and improve the performance of its coated cartonboard in the market.
Located in Fuyang City, the Zhengda paper mill produces 600,000mt of coated, bleached cartonboard annually for packaging.
Zhengda Paper is owned by Zhejiang Zhengda Holding Group, and is also the majority shareholder of four other companies, comprising Zhejiang Hongsheng Paper, Fuyang City Wenbo Paper Industry, Fuyang Fangzheng Paper Industry and Zhejiang Guangming Paper Industry.
New York-based resource- and technology-based growth company Minerals Technologies reported sales of $1.02bn in 2013.
