Under the new partnership, named AP-OMYA Minerals (Jiangmen) Co., Ltd., Omya and APRIL have erected a new facility for the production of Ground Calcium Carbonate (GCC) in a location adjacent to APRIL’s new Paper Machine in Jiangmen, Xinhui in the Guangdong Province of the People’s Republic of China.

The capacity of the GCC facility is 140,000 dry metric t/y, all of which is expected to be consumed by APRIL. APRIL’s new paper machine, producing uncoated wood free paper grades 450,000 t/y, started operation in July 2012.

GCC is an essential raw material for paper manufacturing and responsible for key properties such as printability, opacity and whiteness. Omya won a competitive bid where APRIL assessed items such as product quality, costs, technical capability and service.