Paraná, October 28, 2024 – In October 1934, Klabin acquired the Monte Alegre Farm, in the interior of Paraná, at the time located in the city of Tibagi, with the visionary project of building the first integrated pulp and paper mill in Brazil. This marked the beginning of the relationship between the largest producer and exporter of paper for packaging in the country and Paraná, the main production hub of the Company. Throughout these 90 years, Klabin's presence in the state has been marked by numerous achievements and by the drive for economic, social, and environmental development of the communities where it is present.

 

With a constant focus on sustainability, Klabin continuously invests in the improvement of processes and products. In the last 10 years alone, approximately R$ 36 billion, adjusted for inflation, has been invested in expansions and improvements in its facilities in Paraná, with emphasis on the launch of new products in the national market, new units, and forest expansion.

 

The Monte Alegre Unit, which marked the beginning of Klabin's history in Paraná, remains a benchmark for the paper industry across Brazil. With a production capacity of more than one million metric tons of paper per year, the unit is preparing to receive a new recovery boiler, with cutting-edge technology, which is expected to replace the current one. The work to replace the equipment is underway, and the new boiler is expected to become operational by the end of 2026.

 

Among the most recent achievements is the completion of the Puma II Project, at the Ortigueira Unit, the largest investment in the Company's history and the largest private investment in the state of Paraná, totaling R$12.9 billion. Through this project, the company built and put into operation two new paper machines, MP27 and MP28, to manufacture Eukaliner®, the world's first kraftliner paper made entirely from eucalyptus fiber, and to increase the production of paperboard, thereby strengthening the Company's position among the largest global players in the industry. The Unit is still the only one in the country to offer solutions with the three different types of pulp in Brazil – hardwood pulp, softwood pulp, and fluff, a distinction that positions it as a global reference in the sector.

 

Anticipating its growth cycle in the expansion process of the Ortigueira Unit, Klabin has structured a robust and efficient logistics project for the flow of its production. The operation began in 2021, with the KBT Project, considered the largest intermodal logistics project in terms of transport capacity for a customer in the world. The container yard adjacent to the mill in Ortigueira is operated by the Paranaguá Container Terminal (TCP) and has a direct connection to the railroad, facilitating the transport of cargo to Paranaguá. The next stage of the logistics project, in 2022, was the inauguration of PAR-01, a terminal installed within the Port of Paranaguá, with a direct rail connection to the Ortigueira Unit (PR). The strategic location facilitated a reduction in truck traffic for cargo transportation to the ships and consolidated the Company's export flow, achieving significant milestones that ensured operational excellence and advances in its sustainability strategy.

 

Attentive to opportunities and with an eye on the future, the Company expanded its operations in Paraná by completing the acquisition of Arauco's forestry assets in July of this year. In a transaction valued at R$5.8 billion, Klabin acquired 85,000 hectares of productive forest areas and 31.5 million metric tons of timber, as well as forestry machinery and equipment.

 

Klabin Curiosities:
- The city of Telêmaco Borba, where the Monte Alegre Unit is located, was only created in 1963, and emancipated from Tibagi in 1964, thirty years after Klabin's acquisition of the Monte Alegre Farm.

- Initially, the Monte Alegre Unit produced newsprint and supplied major newspapers in the country at the time, such as Gazeta do Povo, Diário de S. Paulo, O Estado de Minas, A Noite, and Correio do Povo.

- Paper Machine 1 has been in operation since 1947, with the inauguration of the Monte Alegre Unit. It has been 77 years of activity.

- The forest mosaics were implemented by Klabin in 1950. In the same decade, the forests of Klabin were considered the largest forestry project in the world by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN).

- The Company's Forestry Research Area was created in 1952.

- In 2008, the MA-1100 Expansion Project was inaugurated along with the construction of Paper Machine 9, making the Monte Alegre Unit one of the world’s ten largest paper mills at the time and Klabin one of the world’s six largest producers of paperboard from virgin fiber (unrecycled fibers).

- In 2016, Klabin acquired Embalplan in Rio Negro, Paraná. The acquisition is aligned with Klabin’s strategy of growing consistently in its operating markets and marks the startup of the company’s box conversion operation in the state of Paraná.

- Currently, Klabin generates more than 16,000 jobs, including its own and third-party positions, in dozens of cities in Paraná, mainly in the Campos Gerais region.
 

#MonteAlegre #90anos