Why new pulp mills are so big

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A 1980 study for UNIDO said one pulp line could physically run between 1,000 and 1,400 tons a day ¹⁶. Andritz says the fiberline at Suzano's Cerrado mill in Brazil is rated at over 8,000 tons a day ³. This post shows how big the newest mills are, who built them, what they cost and how fast they started.

Published October 27, 2026 · Facts as of October 27, 2026 · 10 min read · Sources listed at the end

Facts as of October 27, 2026. This page states the facts as they stood on that date. Figures, rules and company plans may have changed since publication. We review this guide every six months and update the pages.

2.55 million tonsRated yearly capacity of Suzano's Cerrado mill, started July 21, 2024 ¹

Over 8,000Tons a day rated for the Cerrado fiberline, Andritz says. A 1980 study put the single-line limit at 1,000 to 1,400 ^3,16

3.5 million tonsRated yearly capacity of Arauco's Sucuriu mill, scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2027 ^6,7

Under 6 monthsTime Cerrado took to reach rated output, a trade article reports. Suzano had planned about nine months ^18,19

The 60-second version

What is it?

The newest large pulp mills in South America are rated at 2 to 3.5 million tons of pulp a year. Suzano's Cerrado mill is rated at 2.55 million tons ¹. Arauco's Sucuriu mill is rated at 3.5 million tons ⁶.

Why does it matter?

FAO wrote in 1980 that economies of scale matter for the finances of pulp and paper mills ¹⁷. Arauco's 2024 investor slide for Sucuriu names higher economies of scale and cost efficiency ²⁵. We found no 2023 to 2026 industry source that measures the effect.

How does it work?

Makers built larger lines: Cerrado's fiberline is rated at over 8,000 tons a day, against a 1980 limit of 1,000 to 1,400 ^3,16. Each mill costs billions and takes years to build ^6,8. Reported ramp-up ran from under six months to about a year ^18,13.

Myth or fact?

"A mill this big takes years to reach full output."

See the answer

Mostly myth. A trade article reports that Cerrado reached rated output in under six months ¹⁸. UPM's Paso de los Toros mill started on April 15, 2023 and reached nominal capacity before its June 2024 shutdown ^9,20. Metsa planned about one year at Kemi, and an evaporation plant explosion stopped production until June 2024 ^13,11.

In this post

1. How big are the newest pulp mills?
2. How much bigger is one line than it used to be?
3. Which mills are these, and who made the equipment?
4. Why build one very large line, and what does it cost?
5. How large are the recovery boilers?
6. How fast does a new mill reach full output?
7. Where is the new capacity going?

01How big are the newest pulp mills?

Five mills show the new scale. Arauco's Sucuriu mill in Brazil is rated at 3.5 million tons a year and is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2027 ^6,7. Suzano's Cerrado mill in Brazil is rated at 2.55 million tons and started on July 21, 2024 ¹. UPM's Paso de los Toros mill in Uruguay is rated at 2.1 million tons and started on April 15, 2023 ^8,9. Arauco's MAPA line 3 in Chile is rated at 1.56 million tons ¹⁵. Metsa Fibre's Kemi mill in Finland is rated at 1.5 million tons and started on September 20, 2023 ¹¹.

Cerrado raised Suzano's total pulp capacity to 13.5 million tons a year, an increase of more than 20% ². UPM called Paso de los Toros an increase of over 50% in its pulp capacity ⁸. These are rated capacities stated by the companies. Suzano says Cerrado could make about 2.57 million tons in 2026 and about 2.7 million tons a year from 2027, as reported by EUWID ¹⁸.

Chart

Rated yearly capacity of five new pulp mills

Million tons a year, as stated by each company. Sources: Arauco ^6,7; Suzano Form 6-K, July 21, 2024 ¹; UPM, March 31, 2023 ⁸; EUWID, January 10, 2023 ¹⁵; Metsa Group, October 23, 2024 ¹¹. Orange marks a mill that has not started.

02How much bigger is one line than it used to be?

A 1980 paper by Jaakko Poyry for UNIDO said the physical limits on essentially single line operation appear to be between 1,000 and 1,400 tons per day ¹⁶. Andritz says the Cerrado fiberline is rated at over 8,000 air-dry tons a day and calls it the world's largest single-line fiberline ³. Our arithmetic gives 5.7 to 8 times the 1980 range. The 1980 paper does not state an air-dry basis, so read the ratio as approximate.

The rest of Cerrado is sized to match. Pulp drying has two lines of 4,000 tons a day each, each 10,005 mm wide, and six baling lines. Wood handling has five chipping lines ³. The recovery boiler is rated at 11,150 tons of dry solids a day (tds/d) ³. Andritz also calls Cerrado the world's largest plant with a single eucalyptus pulp production line. These are the maker's claims.

Sucuriu has two fiberlines, three pulp dryers and one recovery boiler ⁵. Arauco calls it the largest pulp production project in the world implemented in a single stage ⁶. For how the chemical loop works, see how a kraft mill works.

03Which mills are these, and who made the equipment?

Two equipment makers, Valmet and Andritz, supplied the main process equipment for all six mills in the table. A mill of this size is a very large order of capital goods. Valmet says its order for Sucuriu is worth over EUR 1 billion ⁵. Valmet's core equipment order for Kemi was about EUR 350 to 400 million ²³. The Andritz releases we read give no order values for Cerrado or Paso de los Toros.

For the makers, their scope and their financiers, see who builds the mills, and who finances them.

Compare

Six large mills, their start and their equipment makers

Sources: Valmet ^5,14,21,23; Andritz ^3,4,22; Suzano ¹; UPM ⁹; Metsa ¹¹; EUWID and Valmet ¹⁵; Arauco ⁷; Finnvera ²⁸. Capacities are as stated by each company.

Mill	Capacity (million tons a year)	Start	Main equipment maker
Arauco Sucuriu, Brazil	3.5	Scheduled Q4 2027	Valmet, complete mill
APP OKI, Indonesia	2.8	Late 2016	Valmet for dryers, evaporation, lime kilns and gasifiers. Andritz for the recovery boiler
Suzano Cerrado, Brazil	2.55	July 21, 2024	Andritz, fiberline, drying, evaporation, recovery boiler
UPM Paso de los Toros, Uruguay	2.1	April 15, 2023	Andritz, complete mill
Arauco MAPA line 3, Chile	1.56	First bale January 20, 2023	Valmet for drying, recovery boiler and biomass boiler. Andritz also supplied technology
Metsa Kemi, Finland	1.5	September 20, 2023	Valmet, all main process islands

Arauco reported 13,200 workers on site at Sucuriu in its 2Q 2026 results ⁷.

04Why build one very large line, and what does it cost?

FAO's Leslie and Kyrklund wrote in 1980 that economies of scale are an important characteristic in the financial viability of the pulp and paper industry, and that the minimum economic size "has therefore increased tremendously" ¹⁷. Arauco's 2024 slide for Sucuriu says the project leads to higher economies of scale and cost efficiency ²⁵. Fastmarkets reports that Suzano targets a structural cash cost of around $100 a ton at Cerrado once ramp-up is complete ¹⁹. We did not find how Suzano defines that cash cost, so we do not set it against other mills' costs.

No source we found gives capital cost per ton. The list below is our arithmetic on company totals, divided by rated yearly capacity. Each total covers different things, such as forest, port, power and local works, so the figures cannot be ranked against each other.

• Sucuriu: $4.6 billion (Arauco, September 2024) over 3.5 million tons is about $1,314 a ton. The total includes 400,000 hectares of eucalyptus and about 400 MW of power ^25,6.
• Paso de los Toros: the July 2019 plan of $3.0 billion is about $1,429 a ton. The $3.47 billion reported at start-up in March 2023, with the port terminal, nursery and local works, is about $1,652 ^10,8.
• Kemi: EUR 1.6 billion (Finnvera, March 1, 2021) is about EUR 1,067 a ton. "About EUR 2 billion" (Metsa, October 23, 2024) is about EUR 1,333 ^12,11.
• Cerrado: R$22.2 billion in total, of which R$15.9 billion is the plant and R$6.3 billion planting and logistics, is about R$8,706 a ton in total and R$6,235 for the plant alone ².

The sources do not explain why the Paso de los Toros and Kemi totals differ by date. A mill of this size is financed with equity, cash flow and debt. Arauco's plan for Sucuriu is equity of $1.2 billion, free cash flow of $0.9 billion and debt of $2.5 billion ²⁵. Finnvera guarantees $970 million of export credit agency financing for it ²⁶. For Kemi, Finnvera guaranteed 80% of a EUR 500 million loan with a tenor of 2.5 plus 8.5 years ¹². See financing a mega mill and ECA-backed finance.

05How large are the recovery boilers?

Three mills in this post have a published recovery boiler size. Cerrado's is rated at 11,150 tds/d ³. Valmet gives 6,300 tds/d for Arauco's MAPA line 3 ¹⁴. APP OKI in Indonesia, which started in 2016, has a boiler listed at 12,000 tds/d in Andritz's February 2019 table. The same table lists 8,250 for Suzano Tres Lagoas and 6,700 for Chenming Meilun ⁴. The table covers Andritz boilers only, so 12,000 is the largest in that table and is not a ranking of all makers.

Valmet says the Sucuriu recovery boiler will be the largest in the world when it starts up ⁵. Valmet gives no figure, and no source we found gives one. PaperAge reports that the boiler at UPM's Paso de los Toros mill is close to 100 meters high and one of the largest in the industry, also without a tds/d figure ²⁴.

06How fast does a new mill reach full output?

Three mills show three paths from start-up to full output. The flow gives each in order. Until a mill reports rated output, a buyer or lender can plan working capital only on the volumes the company has reported.

The flow ends with Sucuriu, which has not started. Arauco reported 74.4% overall progress on July 31, 2026, and a spokesperson told a São Paulo congress in October 2026 that the mill was about 81% complete, as reported by CNN Brasil ^7,29.

1. Cerrado: the planOn July 21, 2024, Suzano expected a learning curve of about nine months, about 900,000 tons in 2024 and about 2 million tons in the first 12 months ¹⁹.
2. Cerrado: the resultA trade article reports rated output in under six months. The learning phase ended on December 29, 2024, and the 1 million ton mark came on January 8, 2025. Suzano credits early operator training ¹⁸.
3. Paso de los TorosStarted April 15, 2023 ⁹. In May 2023 UPM's chief executive said ramp-up would finish by the end of 2023. In July 2024 UPM said nominal capacity was reached a full month before the June 2024 shutdown ²⁰.
4. KemiStarted September 20, 2023. Metsa planned about one year to full capacity and said new woodyard technology takes time to run reliably ¹³. An explosion in the evaporation plant stopped production until June 2024 ¹¹.
5. Sucuriu: nextArauco's 2Q 2026 report says operations are scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2027 ⁷.

07Where is the new capacity going?

The data show that pulp output in Brazil rose from 17.81 million tons in 2015 to 26.67 million tons in 2024, an increase of 49.7%. Sweden and Finland together made 22.07 million tons in 2015 and 21.04 million tons in 2024, a fall of 4.7%. Canada made 17.18 million tons in 2015 and 13.48 million tons in 2024, a fall of 21.5% ²⁷.

These are totals for all mills in each country, so they include far more than the mills in this post. No source we found splits the change by mill. Cerrado and Paso de los Toros started inside this period, and Kemi is the only mill in the table located in the north. For how far Brazil can keep growing, see Brazil: can the largest pulp exporter keep growing? For the two Uruguay and Chile cases, see Chile and Uruguay: big mills, small countries.

Chart

Who makes pulp: Brazil, the Nordics, Canada and China, 1961 to 2024

• Brazil
• Sweden and Finland
• Canada
• China (mainland)

Million tons. Source: FAOSTAT Forestry, item 1875 Wood pulp (downloaded October 2026). China's production figures are FAO estimates.

What this means for traders

• Check what a capacity figure is: rated capacity, who states it, and whether the mill has started.
• Treat "largest" as the maker's or company's claim. Among the mills in this post, only Cerrado (11,150 tds/d), APP OKI (12,000) and MAPA line 3 (6,300) have recovery boiler figures in the sources we read.
• Ask what a capital cost total includes. Forest, port and power change the number, and the total can change between announcement and start-up.

Questions traders ask

How big is the biggest pulp mill?

Among the mills in this post, Arauco's Sucuriu in Brazil is rated at 3.5 million tons a year and is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2027. Of the running mills, APP OKI in Indonesia is rated at 2.8 million tons and Suzano's Cerrado at 2.55 million tons.

When did the Cerrado mill start?

Suzano started the Cerrado mill on July 21, 2024. It is rated at 2.55 million tons a year of bleached eucalyptus pulp.

What is the largest recovery boiler in the world?

Andritz's February 2019 table lists 12,000 tons of dry solids a day for APP OKI, the largest in that table, and Cerrado's is rated at 11,150. Valmet says the Sucuriu boiler will be the largest in the world when it starts up, but it gives no figure.

How long does a new pulp mill take to reach full output?

It varied. A trade article reports Cerrado reached rated output in under six months. UPM's Paso de los Toros reached nominal capacity before its June 2024 shutdown, after starting on April 15, 2023. Metsa planned about one year at Kemi.

How much does a new pulp mill cost?

Arauco puts Sucuriu at $4.6 billion. Suzano put Cerrado at R$22.2 billion. UPM planned $3.0 billion for Paso de los Toros in 2019 and reported $3.47 billion at start-up. The totals cover different things, such as forest, port and power.

Read next

• Inside the millHow a kraft mill works: the chemical loop that made modern pulp
• Inside the millWho builds the mills, and who finances them
• Money and rulesFinancing a mega mill
• Makers and buyersBrazil: can the largest pulp exporter keep growing?
• Makers and buyersChile and Uruguay: big mills, small countries
• Inside the millWhy northern mills close: the companies' own reasons
• Ossiano Trade Finance GuideHow each trade finance instrument works
• GlossaryTrade finance terms in plain English

Financing equipment, stock or sales tied to a new mill? Ossiano Capital works on trade finance for pulp and paper trades.

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Sources and notes

1. Suzano S.A., Form 6-K, Notice to the Market, Cerrado Project start-up, July 21, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/909327/000162828024032385/cerradoprojectstrt-up.htm
2. Suzano, Suzano starts operation of the world's largest pulp production line, July 21, 2024. https://www.suzano.com.br/en/news-post/suzano-starts-operation-of-the-worlds-largest-pulp-production-line
3. Andritz, Suzano, Brazil orders a pulp production line from ANDRITZ, November 9, 2021. https://www.andritz.com/newsroom-en/pulp-paper/2021-11-09-suzano-cerrado
4. Andritz, ANDRITZ recovery boilers data, brochure dated February 2019. https://www.andritz.com/resource/blob/283754/295fbd000b778d8e21d5a0639f2ddf02/andritz-recovery-boilers-data.pdf
5. Valmet, stock exchange release, Valmet to supply a complete pulp mill with full scope automation and flow control solutions to Arauco in Brazil, September 25, 2024, and Valmet article, Valmet delivers a complete pulp mill to Arauco in Brazil. https://www.valmet.com/insights/articles/pulp/valmet-delivers-a-complete-pulp-mill-to-arauco-in-brazil/
6. Arauco, ARAUCO's Board Approved Construction of the Sucuriu Project, September 25, 2024. https://arauco.com/en/directorio-de-arauco-aprueba-construccion-del-proyecto-sucuriu/
7. Arauco, Form 6-K, 2Q 2026 results, August 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001004156/000157587226000589/ara030_ex99-1.pdf
8. UPM, UPM Paso de los Toros pulp mill ready for start-up, March 31, 2023. https://www.upm.com/news-and-stories/releases/2023/03/upm-paso-de-los-toros-pulp-mill-ready-for-start-up-major-milestone-in-the-transformative-growth-investment-in-uruguay/
9. UPM, UPM Paso de los Toros pulp mill begins operations, April 15, 2023 (via Inderes). https://www.inderes.fi/en/releases/upm-paso-de-los-toros-pulp-mill-begins-operations
10. Bioenergy International, UPM invests US$3 billion in a world-class pulp mill in central Uruguay, July 2019. https://bioenergyinternational.com/upm-invests-us3-billion-in-a-world-class-pulp-mill-in-central-uruguay/
11. Metsa Group, Metsa Group Kemi bioproduct mill inaugurated, October 23, 2024. https://www.metsagroup.com/news-and-publications/news/2024/metsa-group-kemi-bioproduct-mill-inaugurated/
12. Finnvera, Finnvera guarantees Metsa Fibre's investment in Kemi, March 1, 2021. https://www.finnvera.fi/eng/export-and-internationalisation/finnvera-as-an-export-finance-provider/guaranteed-transactions/finnvera-guarantees-metsa-fibre-s-investment-in-kemi
13. Metsa Group, Kemi bioproduct mill moves towards full capacity production, December 5, 2023. https://www.metsagroup.com/metsafibre/news-and-publications/news/2023/metsa-groups-kemi-bioproduct-mill-moves-towards-full-capacity-production/
14. Valmet, Valmet to deliver key pulp mill technology for ARAUCO's new pulp line in Chile, December 19, 2018. https://www.valmet.com/news/press-releases/2018/valmet-to-deliver-key-pulp-mill-technology-for-araucos-new-pulp-line-in-chile/
15. EUWID Pulp and Paper, Arauco starts up new pulp line, January 10, 2023, and Valmet, Arauco's MAPA project produces the first pulp bale, January 25, 2023. https://www.euwid-paper.com/news/companies/arauco-starts-up-new-pulp-line-100123/
16. J. C. Easton (Jaakko Poyry) for UNIDO, Criteria for Selection of Small or Large-Scale Pulp and Paper Mills for the Developing Countries, Manila, October 30, 1980. https://downloads.unido.org/ot/47/91/4791662/10001-15000_10928.pdf
17. A. J. Leslie and B. Kyrklund, Small-scale mills for developing countries, FAO Unasylva No. 128, 1980. https://www.fao.org/4/N8595E/n8595e02.htm
18. The Packaging Portal, Suzano reaches nominal capacity and 1 million tons of production in record time, February 20, 2025, and EUWID, Suzano's Cerrado pulp mill to exceed nominal capacity, June 15, 2026. https://www.euwid-paper.com/news/companies/suzanos-cerrado-pulp-mill-to-exceed-nominal-capacity-150626/
19. Fastmarkets, Suzano starts up Cerrado project in Brazil, July 24, 2024. https://fastmarkets.com/insights/suzano-cerrado-project-brazil-pulp-capacity-h2-24
20. Fastmarkets, UPM's Paso de los Toros pulp mill to reach nominal capacity by end of year, May 3, 2023, and UPM Half-Year Financial Report 2024, July 23, 2024. https://prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/upm-half-year-financial-report-2024-comparable-ebit-increased-by-60-in-q2-upm-paso-de-los-toros-reached-full-capacity-302203677.html
21. Valmet, World records and excellent quality at OKI pulp mill, reference page, records as of June 2019. https://www.valmet.com/about-us/references/pulping-and-fiber/apps-oki-pulp-and-paper-mill/
22. Pulp and Paper News, Andritz hands over the world's biggest single line pulp mill to UPM, March 6, 2024. https://www.pulpapernews.com/en/node/15427
23. Valmet, Valmet delivers all main process islands and automation for Metsa Fibre's Kemi bioproduct mill in Finland, February 19, 2021. https://www.valmet.com/news/press-releases/2021/valmet-delivers-all-main-process-islands-and-automation-for-metsa-fibres-kemi-bioproduct-mill-in-finland/
24. PaperAge, UPM Uruguay recovery boiler, November 21, 2022. https://www.paperage.com/2022news/11-21-2022upm-uruguay-recovery-boiler.html
25. Arauco, Conference Call Sucuriu presentation, September 2024. https://arauco.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Conference-Call-Sucuriu-VF4.pdf
26. Arauco, Arauco successfully closes a US$2,200 million financing for its Sucuriu project in Brazil, August 21, 2025. https://arauco.com/en/esarauco-cierra-con-exito-un-financiamiento-de-us2-200-millones-para-su-emblematico-proyecto-sucuriu-en-brasil-con-la-participacion-de-finnvera-bid-invest-e-ifc-enarauco-successfully-clo/
27. FAOSTAT Forestry, item 1875 Wood pulp, production, Brazil, Sweden and Finland, Canada, 2015 and 2024; downloaded October 2026 and checked by us. Percent changes are our arithmetic. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FO
28. Finnvera, The pulp mill modernisation and expansion in Chile, October 7, 2019. https://www.finnvera.fi/eng/export-and-internationalisation/finnvera-as-an-export-finance-provider/guaranteed-transactions/the-pulp-mill-modernisation-and-expansion-in-chile-is-one-of-the-largest-pulp-mill-investments-at
29. CNN Brasil, Arauco avanca e conclui 81% da fabrica de celulose em MS, October 6, 2026. https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/agro/arauco-avanca-e-conclui-81-da-fabrica-de-celulose-em-ms/

Trade figures come from UN Comtrade (2015 to 2025, as reported by 10 countries) and FAOSTAT (1961 to 2024), checked and recalculated by us; each chart names whose data it uses. All tons are metric tons. All facts on this page are as of October 27, 2026, the date of publication, and may have changed since. For rules and tariffs, check the pulp watch before you act.

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