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ipw news

Voith Paper's XcelLine paper machines won the third German Sustainability Award (DNP), presented last Thursday in Düsseldorf, in the Design competition, Vision category. “We are overwhelmed that our paper machines prevailed among the many competitors,” says Dr. Michael Trefz, President Projects at Voith Paper. “The award underlines our market-leading and innovative solutions that contribute significantly to a sustainable transformation in the paper industry.” The German Sustainability Award is one of the most comprehensive award of its kind in Europe, with eight competitions, a high number of applicants and more than 2,000 guests at the various closing events. The award is presented by the Stiftung Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis e.V. (German Sustainability Award Foundation) in cooperation with the German government, leading municipal associations, business associations, civil society organizations and research institutions.

Stora Enso has appointed Minna Björkman as Head of Sourcing and Logistics and a member of the Group Leadership Team. She will start in January 2023. Minna Björkman joined Stora Enso in 2019 as Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Operational Excellence for Packaging Solutions. Prior to joining Stora Enso, she held several senior level positions at Finnish companies such as Nokia, Fazer and Kemira. For over 25 years, Minna has been gaining extensive experience in international supply chains, logistics and sourcing, and she holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business Administration.

Two young South African researchers have won the local segment of the global Blue Sky Awards, and will now progress to competing against 12 international peers from seven countries. Qiniso Ngiba, a chemical engineer by training, and currently a junior research engineer at paper and packaging manufacturer Mpact, and Leane Naude, who is currently completing her MSc in chemical engineering at North West University and working at Sappi, are the two South African winners.

Andritz has received an order from Sappi Austria Produktions GmbH & Co KG to supply key components for a new broke handling system for its mill in Gratkorn, Austria. Start-up is scheduled for the third quarter of 2023. The new broke handling will be part of the production line PM9 producing high-quality wet strength paper, such as label paper in the future. Andritz will deliver high-consistency (HC) pulping, high-density (HD) cleaning and deflaking for processing the special type of broke.

Mondi launches Color Copy original customized for the North American market. The digital color printing paper was specifically adapted for Canadian merchant Multiplex Solutions. “We are really excited to bring the Color Copy brand to North America!” says Jeffrey Lovely, President at Multiplex Solutions.

Stora Enso has received regulatory approval from the EU Commission to proceed with the acquisition of De Jong Packaging Group, announced in September 2022. Closure of the transaction is still ongoing and expected to be finalised at the beginning of 2023.

A proposal for a revised Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, tabled today by the European Commission, builds on the performance of the EU industry’s recycling model for paper and board packaging. The paper industry now calls for a science-based evaluation of recyclable and reusable options.

Lessebo Paper is launching their new series Lessebo Colours™ to meet the expanding demand for high-quality coloured papers in the luxury packaging market. Lessebo Paper, located in the forests in the south of Sweden, has been producing high-quality paper since 1693.

The international PulPaper organised in Helsinki is one of the leading professional events in the forest industry. After the PulPaper event organised in the summer of 2022, the organisers of the event have held discussions with companies in the field and settled on a completely new concept that serves both companies and professionals in the field even better. The modern PulPaper 2024 event will be organised completely renewed on 10-11 April 2024 at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre.

At the beginning of November, Voith successfully started up the “world's largest” kraftliner machine for SCA, the Swedish forest industry company, at its Obbola site. The state-of-the-art machine features a design speed of 1,400 meters per minute and a wire width of 10,200 mm. The Voith XcelLine paper machine will produce 725,000 tons of high-quality kraftliner per year with basis weights between 100 and 200 gsm. Compared to the old line, the new machine increases SCA´s production capacity by 270,000 tons.

Andritz has received an order from Xuan Mai Paper Co. Ltd. to supply a PrimeLineCompact S1800 tissue machine for its production line PM2 at its mill located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The tissue machine will enable the production of high-quality tissue grades made of either 100% virgin or 100% deinked pulp (DIP). Start-up is scheduled for 2024.

On 11 November 2022, Toscotec has started up two tissue machine rebuilds at the production facilities of two major producers in North and South America. On both projects, the scope of the modifications was extensive, covering the wet and the dry section of the two lines. The tight periods of machine stop have been executed according to schedule.

As part of its overall commitment to support its customers’ increasing demand for paper-based packaging, Huhtamaki has today inaugurated the extension to its existing manufacturing site in Nules. The extension, which will commence production in January 2023 represents a €20 million investment and will double the site’s capacity. The investment includes a grant of €2.2 million from the Conselleria de Hacienda y Modelo Economico (Community of Valencia).

bio-fibre news

An entirely new operating method has been adopted for the wood logistics of Metsä Group’s Kemi bioproduct mill. It combines electrified rail transports, the weighing and reception of wood at wood terminals, artificial intelligence, and machine vision. “The Kemi bioproduct mill receives two thirds of the wood it uses by train. Smooth rail logistics are essential to ensure that the bioproduct mill receives the volume of wood it needs,” says Hannu Alarautalahti, SVP, Production, Metsä Forest.

CertainTeed Roofing in Oxford, North Carolina, broke ground in November on the construction of a new state-of-the-art glass mat plant. The facility will be used for the highly efficient production of glass mat, a key component in the manufacture of roofing shingles. With a total investment of $167 million, this is CertainTeed Roofing's largest investment to date in a U.S. site. The company has contracted Voith to supply the production machine as well as automation and digitalization solutions from Voith´s Papermaking 4.0 portfolio. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2024.

Valmet will supply a flue gas condensing process to Vantaa Energy’s new high-temperature incineration plant in Vantaa, Finland. The plant is designed to process household and industry waste that is classified as hazardous and not suitable for recycling. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the fourth quarter 2022. Its value will not be disclosed, but such an order is typically worth over EUR 15 million. The project will start in 2022 and the plant is scheduled for completion in 2025.