AustroCel Hallein: Restart of the plant in January 2022

AustroCel announces the planned restart of the plant in January 2022. Production has been at a standstill since a sulfur dioxide leak from a pulp digester on June 2, which resulted in the death of an employee. With the involvement of TÜV Austria and other external experts, AustroCel has had a comprehensive safety analysis of the entire plant carried out. The investigation by the public prosecutor's office into the cause of the tragic accident has not yet been completed.
Based on the recommendations of the experts, AustroCel immediately began to implement organizational and technical measures to improve safety. measures to improve safety. In the course of the extensive work the pipelines with a total length of three kilometers were technically checked and maintained. Furthermore AustroCel had repairs carried out, replaced plant components and installed an additional electronic safety control system. safety control system was installed. In order to be ready for regular operations, the short-time work for the entire for the entire workforce will end as planned at the end of November.

Regulatory approval process for pulp production
In January 2022, all plant components as well as the control system of the pulp digester will undergo final testing; in addition, pressure tests will be carried out in this area. Testing and commissioning will be accompanied by suppliers, external experts, and TÜV. After the extensive testing work and preparations, the responsible authorities will decide on the approval for pulp production.
AustroCel expects that regular production operations can subsequently be started up quickly and that the first saleable batches can thus be delivered by the end of February 2022.