News
Veracel already employs 1,850 persons in the construction of its pulp mill - 11.26.03
Some 1,850 workers are directly employed in the construction of the Veracel pulp mill in the south of Bahia. At the peak of the construction project, approximately 12,000 persons will be at work, directly and indirectly, so that the plant will be ready to begin operations in mid-2005. During the operating phase, some 10,000 persons will be directly and indirectly employed. The installed production capacity of the mill will be 900,000 tons/year of bleached eucalyptus pulp. It will be the largest manufacturing facility of its type containing a single production line. The US$ 1.25 billion investment, including the formation of eucalyptus plantations and the mill itself, will be the largest project undertaken during the government of Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.
The future mill, which will make use of the most modern technology currently available, will occupy a 1.5-million-square-meter site located on the border between the municipalities of Eunápolis and Belmonte. Currently, among others, earthmoving, office construction, kitchens/lunchrooms, a social area and an entrance are under construction, as are underground water and sewage networks and power and lighting installations. At the same time, two housing projects are being built for 1,500 men each - one in Barrolândia, a district of Belmonte located 18 Km from the plant site and another in Itagimirim.
The majority of the workers have been undergoing training since June, conducted by Veracel in partnership with the government of Bahia and Senai. A total of 5,500 persons will be trained in the nine municipalities in the company's area of influence. Local manpower - trained as construction workers, assemblers and pulp technicians - has been given priority for the construction and operating phases of the project. For training programs alone, the company has invested some R$ 8.3 million, which includes scholarships in the amount of R$ 500 for the students taking the pulp technician course and others of varying values for the students in the other courses. One of the highlights of this program is the Professional Training Center, created by Veracel in Eunápolis, that will have trained 1,750 local residents and others from the nearby towns of Canavieiras, Belmonte, Guaratinga, Itabela, Itagimirim, Itapebi, Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz Cabrália by May 2005.
Veracel
Founded in 1991 by Odebrecht, and with controlling ownership today divided evenly between Aracruz Celulose of Brazil and Stora Enso of Sweden-Finland, Veracel currently owns 68,000 hectares eucalyptus plantations in the south of Bahia. Of a total of 147,000 hectares of the company's land in the region, 70,000 hectares are destined for the recovery and conservation of the Atlantic Forest, the rest is occupied by plantations and infrastructure such as roads and plantation administration buildings.