With this project Mpact Ltd. pursued two goals: Compared to the former winder, the new VariFlex should feature a 50% higher processing capacity, thus allowing to cope with a planned increase in production at the PM 3 in the future. In addition, the time from switching off the old winder until starting up the VariFlex was reduced to an absolute minimum. The combined efforts of the Voith and Mpact installation teams enabled the start-up of the winder two days earlier than the demanding 10-day planned schedule. The two goals were achieved.

The efficient installation and start-up process was made possible by a special procedure. Even before the new winder was delivered, it was taken into operation at Voith in Krefeld, Germany, then packed into three oversize containers and shipped to South Africa. In Felixton, a crane lifted the winder into the mill, where it was installed in the course of 24-h shifts.

“The new winder has removed the bottleneck in our process. We have already seen an 8 % speed increase on the paper machine and are looking forward to the next machine upgrade knowing we are not constrained of the front end“, says Brian Smith, Mill Manager at Mpact Felixton.