In 2005 Andes Bio Pellets S.A.established a new company together with the partners JCE, Chile. The company set up a new plant for the production of biopellets based on sawdust or bark as the raw material. As a fi rst step, the plant, that is located adjacent to Concepción, Chile, and was commissioned in 2006, aims at exporting their products. The JCE Group AB has its roots in the shipping and particularly the offshore industry. Over the years the JCE Group has diversifi ed their activities and is now also operating in areas such as forestry, real estate, construction, distribution, information technology and telecom. The JCE Group is operating on an international basis, including such countries as Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland and Sweden. The Andritz Sprout equipment supplied for Andes Bio Pellets holds a yearly capacity of 40,000 – 50,000 tons and consists of two pelleting lines.