Mpumalanga, South Africa
Ngodwana Mill
COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
Contribution to local economy
WORKFORCE
WORKFORCE
Highly skilled and motivated employees
ENVIRONMENT
Plant
ENVIRONMENT
Plant
Generating renewable energy from biomass
The Sappi Ngodwana Mill fuels the local economy with over ZAR 5 billion annually, creating jobs for thousands, supporting livelihoods, and driving sustainability through renewable energy initiatives, all while fostering community upliftment and empowerment.
Meet our people
Knowing that my actions make a positive impact is extremely satisfying.
Gideon Mkhabela, Senior Laboratory Technician, Ngodwana Mill
About Ngodwana Mill
Nestled in the scenic Elands Valley, about 50 km from Mbombela, the capital city of Mpumalanga province in South Africa, is the Sappi Ngodwana Mill. In operation since 1966, the mill produces paper pulp for its own consumption, as well as newsprint, containerboard and dissolving wood pulp (DWP). With Project GoCell, the mill entered the growing dissolving pulp market in 2013.
Conveniently situated amidst Sappi’s own commercial forestry operations in the verdant Lowveld, the mill produces 320,000 tons of paper pulp, 255,000 tons of DWP and 380,000 tons of paper (newsprint and kraft linerboard used for packaging) per annum.
Supporting the local community
Our local community – where most of our employees live - is at the heart of our business. We work with local community forums to create positive social impact by jointly identifying and leveraging opportunities, thereby demonstrating our commitment to transparency and collaboration.
These range from employment opportunities, identifying and supporting SMEs through our Enterprise Supplier Development programme, skills development and training programmes, youth upliftment initiatives and early childhood development initiatives.
In this regard, a local community upliftment-training programme to upskill people from communities surrounding the mill was established, and to date more than 800 trainees have been trained in various construction and building related skills. Some of these locals are employed in the annual mill shut, or for smaller local contracts.
We engage our employees as well as local businesses and non-government organisations to assist with ongoing and sustainable community outreach programmes that address various areas of need like providing access to water and sanitation, improving school infrastructure, food schemes and blanket drives for the vulnerable.
Caring for the environment
As part of the mill’s sustainability journey, great care is taken to minimise the use of natural resources; reduce air emissions, effluent discharge and solid waste; as well as improve energy efficiency. The mill has been uniquely designed to minimise the use of freshwater and performs in the top fifth percentile of integrated pulp and paper mills worldwide in this regard. The mill generates its own energy in the form of steam and electricity from renewable and other sources. On average, the mill exports power to the national grid, helping to fuel the growing local economy.
Certifications for Ngodwana Mill
Our certifications ensure that our performance is monitored and that our operations comply with global best practice across a range of environmental, safety and quality topics.
Explore our other mills in South Africa
Lomati Mill
Lomati Sawmill, established in 1971, is a manufacturing plant that produces kiln dried Southern African pine lumber from sawlogs supplied by Sappi Forests.
Ngodwana Mill
Ngodwana Mill has been in operation since 1966 and entered the dissolving wood pulp (DP) market in 2013 with the conversion of part of the mill’s paper-grade pulp production to DP production.
Saiccor Mill
Saiccor Mill, a Sappi Pulp facility, produces world-class products in South Africa, where technology and infrastructure meet global demands. It is located 50 km south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.
Stanger Mill
Stanger Mill is unique in South Africa in that it uses bagasse as its basic raw material in the manufacture of office paper and tissue paper. Situated along the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, the mill is ideally situated to take advantage of the ready supply of bagasse from the neighbouring Gledhow Sugar Company.
Tugela Mill
Tugela Mill has been in operation since 1945 and is currently the oldest purpose-built mill in the Sappi group. The mill produces neutral sulphite semi-chemical pulp for its own consumption, corrugating medium (containerboard) and lignosulphonate for export.