Panels Arauco S.A. built a new Medium Density Particle Board (MDP) plant. The project included the installation of two lamination lines for the production of melamine boards and an impregnation line for the preparation of the melamine papers required for the panel lamination process.

The nominal production capacity is 300,000 m3 of finished panels per year, with densities ranging from 600 to 760 kg/m3. The production capacity of melamine-coated boards is 250,000 m3 per year, and the capacity of the impregnation line will be 36,000,000 m2 per year.

In mid-2011, the management of CMPC Maderas’ Plywood plant requested support to estimate the investment involved in expanding its facilities to double its production, going from 240,000 m3 to 500,000 m3 of panels per year without stopping its operation, and to incorporate new technologies to optimize its processes and the efficient use of energy. This is how PA Engineering takes on the challenge, but with an extra ingredient, to carry out the task under the demands and commitment involved in carrying out an EPCM Target Price.

In the first stage of the project, and with the intention of estimating the investment to carry out the transformation of Plywood, a group of PA Engineering professionals worked on the basic engineering.

In May 2012, the second stage of the project began, the development of detailed engineering in mechanics, piping, civil and structures, electricity and instrumentation and control, which implied not only the expansion of the plant on its four sides, but also the redesign and expansion of the by-product handling areas.  the steam networks, compressed air, fire network, sewage treatment plant and electrical system.

As the detailed engineering progressed, advances began in the procurement, in order to begin construction, all under strict control of compliance with deadlines and Capex and without interfering with the normal operating schedule of the plant.

The expansion project to increase production from 240,000 m3/year to 500,000 m3/year of finished plywood, also included the expansion of the industrial warehouse by 31 thousand m2, expansion of the office building, doubling the storage capacity of the piece yard, incorporating an additional unwinding line with its respective by-product handling area,  two dryers, an additional joining machine, two automatic gluing and arming lines, two cold presses and two hot presses, and in the finishing area, two automatic panel repair lines and a new squaring and sanding line were incorporated. Additionally, a line was installed to provide greater added value to the panels (texturing, profiling and grooving).

Along with this, the pending areas of the original project were carried out: paving of interior roads, warehouse buildings, spare parts, maintenance workshops, quality control laboratory, dressing rooms, casino, operations and administration offices.

A “Grass Root” project was developed in a plant producing 120,000 tonnes per year of adhesive resins for wood panels. The project included the installation of four reactors to produce resins and a plant of 35,000 (tons/year) of formaldehyde, plus all the auxiliary systems for its operation, such as: compressed air system, steam boilers, cooling water system, RILES treatment plant, storage of raw materials and products, electrical systems, etc.  instrumentation and control, etc.

This project passed all the regulations and certifications required by the German environmental, safety and TUV quality certification bodies.

The project aimed to improve the Evaporators area of the Constitución plant, to improve its operational availability and achieve a stable generation of black liquor with 70% solids to be burned in the recovery boiler. The main equipment has been purchased from the supplier Valmet Brazil. The project considers a net evaporation rate of 325 tons/h of water and a solids concentration of 70% virgin for Black Liquor.