"Our polarized forming fabrics have been piloted in paper-machines for over a year now. After the polarized technology entered the market in 2016, we have seen its advantages through our customers' performance. The machines run cleaner, number of breaks is reduced, retention is higher, just to mention a few. The unique polarized structure makes a big difference in the fabric performance compared to what we have seen before," says Pekka Kortelainen, Product Technology Manager at Valmet.

Polarized structure improves the machine runnability and performance

Traditionally, all SSB (sheet support binding) fabrics have had direct drainage channels. In the polarized structure, the machine direction yarns on both the paper side and the roll side are shifted to form an off-stacked structure. This special structure removes the direct drainage channels traditionally used in forming fabrics.

"The unique polarized structure allows controlled initial drainage in the paper-making process. That improves retention and helps keeping the machine clean. Good runnability and cleanliness reduce breaks and therefore increase production capacity remarkably. Cost-savings are created by for example being able to use less chemicals," explains Kortelainen.

To this date Valmet has sold about 300 polarized Valmet Forming Fabrics and over 90% of the customers who have tested the new fabric type have seen its benefits and continued to run it on their machines.

"Our target was to further improve formation without losing our good dewatering, and already the first trials proved the advantages of the polarized structures. We were able to significantly improve formation as we wanted, but the cleanliness and runnability were also good, and the dry content remained excellent. Since that first trial, those polarized fabrics have become our standard Valmet design fabrics. Valmet has been Parenco's key partner in paper machine clothing for over 30 years, and we truly appreciate their support and excellent services," says Yan Vassart, Operations Manager at Parenco in Netherlands.

The polarized structure can be utilized in all SSB forming fabric types, which makes it suitable for all paper machines.