Arauco Starts Building Its New Plant in Brazil

Brazil’s Acting President, Geraldo Alckmin, led the delegation of Brazilian authorities present at this milestone event, which marks the largest investment in the history of the Chilean company.

In the city of Inocência, Brazil, Arauco held the groundbreaking ceremony this Wednesday for its Sucuriú Project, officially marking the start of construction on its first pulp mill in the country. With an investment of US$4.6 billion, the new plant — the largest in the world built in a single phase — will have the capacity to produce 3.5 million tons of pulp per year, and operations are expected to begin by the end of 2027. The event was attended by several high-ranking officials, including Brazil’s Acting President, Geraldo Alckmin, as well as representatives from federal, state, and local governments.

“We are a globally focused company that works with a renewable resource essential for tackling the planet’s challenges. Beyond creating economic value, we believe our development must be guided by respect for nature and the well-being of people and communities. That’s why we are fostering a safe, inclusive, and collaborative environment, ensuring that this project generates a positive transformation for Mato Grosso do Sul,” said Arauco CEO, Cristián Infante.

Geraldo Alckmin, in turn, praised the Chilean company’s significant investment in Brazil, opening the door to a close partnership between his administration and Arauco. He highlighted the project’s impact on the region, through job creation and various benefits for the local economy. In addition to the Acting President, attendees included the Governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, Eduardo Riedel; Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet; the Mayor of Inocência, Antônio Ângelo; Senator Tereza Cristina; and the Chilean Ambassador to Brazil, Sebastián Depolo, among others.

With the construction of this new facility — Arauco’s largest investment to date — the company is strengthening its presence in Brazil and reinforcing its leadership in the global pulp market. In addition to boosting job creation and income generation, the Sucuriú Project will also increase tax revenue and attract new investments, positioning Mato Grosso do Sul as a global benchmark in the pulp sector.
One of the project’s main pillars has been community engagement. Since its arrival in Inocência in 2022, Arauco has maintained an ongoing dialogue with the local population, hosting open forums to listen to residents and share updates on the project’s progress, while learning about their expectations for the future. Arauco has operated in Mato Grosso do Sul since 2009 through its forestry activities.
“Ongoing dialogue with the community and collaboration with authorities are how we turn our connection and commitment to this region and its people into reality. A large-scale project like Sucuriú has a responsibility to leave an equally large legacy — both for today and for future generations. It’s essential to value local roots and respect the community’s history, while fully embracing its people and surroundings,” said Carlos Altimiras, Arauco’s Country Manager in Brazil.

The project encompasses a total area of 3,500 hectares, with over 4.8 million square meters of constructed space. The site will house the plant’s main facilities, including wood preparation, cooking, bleaching, drying, chemical recovery, and energy generation units, among others. During the construction phase, the project will create over 14,000 direct jobs. Once operational, the facility is expected to employ around 6,000 people across industrial, forestry, and logistics areas.

More About the Project
Biodiversity conservation is a guiding principle of the Sucuriú Project, influencing every phase from construction through to operation. The initiative prioritizes sustainable forest management and includes ongoing monitoring of local fauna and flora, identification of native species, and mapping of priority conservation areas.

Arauco is implementing a comprehensive Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan focused on quality and control of water consumption, sanitary effluents, solid waste, noise and vibration, and dust control, among other factors. A total of 24 programs aim to minimize the environmental impact of construction, including the legally required Basic Environmental Plan (PBA), which includes environmental and social mitigation measures such as waste recovery, monitoring, and management.

With strict environmental guidelines in place to preserve natural resources, one of the project’s main pillars is water efficiency: it will use just 26 m³ of water per ton of pulp produced — one of the lowest rates in the sector — with 100% of effluents treated. Approximately 90% of the water withdrawn will be returned to its source after processing.

To support rainwater reuse, Arauco is building a Waste Treatment and Recovery Center that will transform residual materials into useful products, aiming to divert all waste from landfills and promote circular economy practices. This process will produce soil compost from organic waste and soil acidity correctives from inorganic byproducts of the pulp process. Primary and secondary sludge from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) will be incinerated in the Power Boiler to generate renewable energy, with conveyor belts used for transport to reduce pollutant emissions.

The new plant will be fully self-sufficient in renewable energy generation. The Recovery Boiler — the largest of its kind in the global pulp and paper industry — will use byproducts from the wood cooking process to generate electricity, while the Biomass Boiler will utilize production residues for the same purpose. Additionally, the facility will include a Gasification Unit that will produce renewable biofuel, significantly reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

The total installed energy generation capacity will exceed 400 megawatts (MW), of which 200 MW will be used internally. The surplus will be enough to supply a city of 800,000 inhabitants, reinforcing Arauco’s commitment to energy transition and decarbonization.

About Arauco Brazil
Operating in Brazil since 2002, Arauco is active in the Forestry and Wood sectors, working to contribute to people and the planet through renewable resources. The company employs more than 3,000 direct workers and has five industrial units across the country.
Its facilities include three panel plants located in Jaguariaíva (PR), Ponta Grossa (PR), and Montenegro (RS); a panel and moulding plant in Piên (PR); and a resins and chemicals unit in Araucária (PR). In 2027, the company plans to inaugurate its first bleached pulp mill in Inocência (MS).

Guided by ESG principles, Arauco holds FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for its forests, recognizing environmentally responsible, socially equitable, and economically viable forest management. In 2020, it became the first company in the world to receive Carbon Neutral certification, issued by Deloitte and audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Both globally and in Brazil, the company operates with a focus on responsible water management, biodiversity conservation, and atmospheric CO₂ reduction.