“We are now in the middle of the MAPA project, which is by far the most important project Arauco has ever had, so we are very excited about it. We are making sure we all do our very best,” says Patricio Henriquez, Arauco´s Engineering and Construction Division Director.
“Currently, we have more or less 200 people from Arauco working here; this includes our site administration together with all our site supervisors and Health & Safety people. The main goal of this huge project is that it ends with zero accidents, as well as to have a successful project with a smooth start-up.”
A seasoned project director, Henriquez, has been working at Arauco for 30 years, taking care of the largest and most important projects related to the company’s forest industry product areas. “At the moment we are still in the preparation stage and starting with the civil works. We have already hired the principal and main construction companies and equipment erection will also begin shortly.”
Patricio Henriquez, Arauco´s Engineering and Construction Division Director and Harri Makkonen, Project Director for MAPA from ANDRITZ discuss the project status and next steps.
© Behrendt & Rausch“ANDRITZ has been a very good company to work with so far on the MAPA project,” says Henriquez. “We learned a lot about how it operates during the negotiation phase, and it is clear that these projects are taken very seriously; at the same time, flexibility is very important, as we need to be flexible, too. We are also happy with the ANDRITZ equipment that has been chosen; our experience at our other mills in Chile and Uruguay make us feel very confident in the technology being provided.
PATRICIO HENRIQUEZ
Project Director for MAPA
As the project moves into the construction phase, there are more and more challenges as more and more people arrive at the site. “There is going to be a lot of equipment, engineers, and workers coming on to the site during the construction phase and we have to be very careful and work as a team with all our vendors engaged in the project,” says Henriquez.
ANDRITZ’s scope of supply to the project includes a complete wood processing plant, fiberline, black liquor evaporation plant, and complete white liquor plant.
ANDRITZ has a major role in Arauco’s MAPA project, with around 1,000 skilled employees and sub-suppliers currently working around the world in all kinds of specialized areas, including, logistics, engineering, and manufacturing.
“Currently, we are right on the planned schedule,” says ANDRITZ Project Director for MAPA, Harri Makkonen. “We are finalizing our engineering according to schedule and all the purchasing of parts and equipment has been completed. Some of the first shipments of equipment have already arrived at the site.”
