WEG’s LV and MV ranges of electric motors and control gear are providing the drive for all mill and associated facilities in what is probably the world’s largest ecologically sustainable project to produce Eucalyptus pulp. Representing an investment, to-date, of $1.25 billion, the VERACEL project in Brazil is a joint venture between ARACRUZ CELULOSE, the world’s largest producer of short fibre eucalyptus pulp, and STORA ENSO, the second largest paper producer in the world. The project comprises a nursery, sustainable plantations (147.000 hectares (363.243 acres) total area), a private forest reserve and a pulp mill, which produces 900,000 tons of bleached Eucalyptus pulp per year.
Located on the Brazilian state of Bahia, VERACEL project is one of the world’s most advanced mills, both in terms of the modernity of its processes and its environmental procedures. The project employs Eucalyptus trees because they offer several advantages compared to other forest species, including native trees. Thanks to Brazil's favorable climate, and Aracruz’s achievements in forestry research and technology, Veracel eucalyptus trees can be harvested in only seven years for pulp making – when they reach 35 metres in height. As a result, the productivity of the company's eucalyptus forest is twice that of planted conifers, and for most of the country's native trees. This is important as it means that the amount of land required for eucalyptus plantations is significantly reduced.
As supplier to ARACRUZ for electric equipment, WEG, itself an ISO 14001 approved organisation, has been involved with the Veracel project since its inception, supplying both low and medium voltage electric motors for the control of a wide range of facilities including, fibreline digesters, causticising plant, line kilns, fibreline bleaching, fibreline brownstock, drying machines evaporation, water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant.
WEG is the preferred supplier of motors to the Veracel project due to the high levels of reliability, efficiency and robustness provided by its ranges of LV and MV motors.
WEG motors are proven in some of the most operationally demanding environments in the world, including steel production, oil and gas, power generation, waste recycling, mining and quarrying and water treatment and desalinization plants.
The motors are in keeping the ecological objectives of the Veracel project, providing high levels of efficiency to reduce energy use across all the mill activities.
WEG Electric Motors (UK) Ltd
01527 – 596748
