below please find a selection of the latest news from the world of pulp and paper. And don't forget to visit our new LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. We look forward to a lively exchange.

ipw news

Valmet will supply a coated board making line with automation and Industrial Internet solutions as well as spare parts and consumables packages to one of its customers in the Asia-Pacific region. The board making line with high productivity will produce folding coated board grades of premium quality.

With the AiroGuide Tune Green, Voith is setting a new standard in the field of papermaking products made of renewable raw materials. As the latest member of the AiroGuide guide roll cover family, AiroGuide Tune Green is certified according to the internationally recognized DIN CERTCO for bio-based products. The guide roll cover combines all the advantages of the proven AiroGuide technology while enabling the reduction of the carbon footprint. The new innovation aligns with Voith's long-time commitment and ambitious goals to accelerate sustainability for papermakers as well as in its own production.

Toscotec will sponsor Pianeta Terra Festival, a celebration of sustainability in all its shapes and forms running from 6^th to 9^th October in Lucca, Italy. Organized by publisher Laterza and directed by internationally renowned plant neurobiologist and author Stefano Mancuso, this first edition of the festival offers insightful conferences, talks, and joyful night music, featuring multidisciplinary experts and creatives. Sustainability is explored far and wide to offer a 360-degree view that spans from ecology to literature, sociology, economics, finance, art, nutrition, and more.

ABB is launching an industry-first solution in the form of an L&W-specific extension of the existing myABB portal. By taking the best of the current tool and synchronizing it with customers’ L&W installed base, myABB for L&W will help mills manage the maintenance, calibration and lifecycle requirements of ABB’s lab devices. It for L&W provides 24/7 access to ABB experts via a self-service, web-based tool that provides a real-time, 360-degree view of all the detailed documentation and lab interaction about the service and lifecycle management of the L&W installed base. This is accessed through an easy-to-use, customizable interface that also provides visibility of other ABB equipment across a mill’s larger installed base, such as their control system.

International technology group Andritz will be presenting its innovative technologies for sustainable paper production at MIAC 2022, booth #72, in Lucca, Italy, October 12-14, 2022. The Andritz main motto for this year's MIAC is “Sustainability in Practice”. Andritz will be presenting innovative technologies that enable customers to save energy, water and raw materials. The product portfolio ranges from specific solutions for the entire paper and board production process – from fiber preparation to the paper and board machine – that help to reduce production costs and increase output and product quality.

Modernisation of the power plant boiler at Sappi’ s production site in Gratkorn, Austria, is finally completed. As of now, more sustainable fuels will be used instead of coal to power the paper machines at the company’s largest mill in Europe. During a transitional phase, the new state-of-the-art boiler will run on natural gas and biomass. In the future, predominantly biomass will be used. “Our ultimate goal is to use only sustainable and renewable fuels. This will make us more independent in the future, especially in times of gas shortages and uncertainty on the energy market,” explains Sappi Gratkorn Managing Director Max Oberhumer.

Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, announced on 15 September 2022 that it starts pre-engineering for a new folding boxboard mill in Kaskinen, Finland. Metsä Board announced in May 2022 that it explores possibilities to increase folding boxboard capacity in Finland or Sweden in order to support its customers’ growth and to strengthen its service capability. As result of the study, the company starts pre-engineering for a new folding boxboard mill with an annual capacity of approximately 800,000 tonnes at the Kaskinen mill site in Finland.

Over the course of these two days customers and partners will be able to discover the innovations that Körber Business Area Tissue is developing in the automation and digital fields. In order to meet the needs of all customers and partners there are two sessions scheduled by Körber Business Area Tissue for each of the themed days of September 27 and October 4.

Screen baskets are essential in paper production to remove contaminants from the suspension in the screening process. Since high stresses occur here, Voith developed the C-bar HerculeX screen basket in 2017, which combines maximum stability with the proven C-bar technology. These screen baskets are characterized by their overlapping profile bar design that protects the slots from high wear and keeps the slot widths constant over the entire service life. Meanwhile, Voith is celebrating the success of 1,000 HerculeX screen baskets delivered and at the same time launches the newest member of the Voith screen basket family: the C-bar HerculeXX.

Label manufacturer UPM Raflatac and industrial labeling and identification solutions provider Logopak have agreed on a collaboration, which provides their customers a robust linerless solution in print and apply labeling. With linerless labeling, omitting the label liner significantly increases the running length and capacity of the label rolls, saves costs, and benefits the environment by reducing the CO₂ footprint in production and logistics. As a first step the collaboration will improve especially the automatic labeling of secondary packaging.

Huhtamaki and Stora Enso have joined forces to launch a new paper cup recycling initiative, The Cup Collective. The programme, which is the first of its kind in Europe, aims to recycle and capture the value of used paper cups on an industrial scale. Initially the programme will be implemented across the Benelux. With the aim of setting new standards for paper cup collection and recycling in Europe, The Cup Collective has issued an open invitation for partners from across the supply chain to get involved in working towards a systemic European solution.

Due to continuing high cost and volatility in raw materials, energy and transportation, Sappi Europe has announced a price increase to its Coated Mechanical reels. The adjustment will range between 6-9% and will be implemented during the month of October. Sappi’s European sales team will be in further contact directly with customers to discuss the details of the implementation.

Papermaker James Cropper has partnered with a new player in the fragrance market to deliver a circular packaging solution. Complementing BelRebel’s vision of creating a fully eco conscious offer, the fragrance challenger brand selected James Cropper’s Vanguard range of paper to create the boxes for its seven fragrances, as well as the absorbent tester blotters for fragrance evaluation. Containing 30% upcycled fibre, the Vanguard paper gives a second life to recovered fibre and is blended with fresh fibre from sustainable forestry sources to deliver beautiful papers without any compromise on performance or beauty.

Toscotec will showcase technological breakthroughs designed for the paper mill of the future at MIAC 2022 from 12th to 14th October in Lucca, Italy. The company has developed two paper drying innovations aimed to cut direct greenhouse gas emissions to zero: TT Induction SYD, a Steel Yankee Dryer design using electrical induction to dry paper, and TT Hydrogen Burner, a new generation of 100% hydrogen fueled burners for Yankee hoods.

WAN-IFRA announces the strengthening of its presence in Spain and Latin America. The announcement comes as the association is preparing to host more than 900 news media executives and editors at its annual World News Media Congress, which will be held in Zaragoza, Spain, from 28-30 September.

OnQ FormingSens has a long track record of benefitting paper manufacturers of different grades, with more than 100 systems are already in use in the forming section worldwide. Thanks to microwave technology, the leading solution measures fluctuations in water weight precisely, reliably and in real time. Based on this information, papermakers can systematically improve their settings, achieve a stable dry content at the end of the forming section, and utilize the maximum dewatering capacity in the press section. At the same time, the optimized settings ensure less wear on the forming fabrics and ceramics.

Kemira is implementing a 4% energy surcharge for all Pulp and Paper process and functional chemistries across North America for all non-contract customers, effective October 1, 2022. The surcharge announced in April for inorganic coagulants sold through the Industry & Water segment remains in effect.

Another milestone has been passed in that PulpEye no. 80 has been sold to Ahlstrom-Munksjö's specialty paper mill in Billingsfors in Sweden. It is a successful and niche specialty paper mill with large customers in, among other things, steel and furniture manufacturing. With the help of PulpEye, measurement of kappa number, shives, dots and fibre length will take place online.

bio-fibre news

The world’s first autonomously operated logyard cranes have been successfully lifted up at Metsä Fibre’s bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland. Supplied by international technology group Andritz, the delivery includes two 2 x 25-ton cranes on a 540 m long runway with a storage capacity of approximately 120,000 m³.

Huhtamaki, a global advanced manufacturer of sustainable packaging solutions, announces its investment in Emerald Technology Ventures’ sustainable packaging fund. As a limited partner, Huhtamaki will help to foster next-generation sustainable packaging solutions and tap into nascent innovation of start-ups.