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Below please find a selection of the latest news from the world of pulp and paper.

ipw news

Voith has opened another OnPerformance.Lab (OPL) location in Kunshan, China, to offer the comprehensive know-how and competencies of its experts worldwide as close to the customer as possible. With this step, Voith is strengthening the global network of the remote service center, which offers data-based services such as data analysis, condition monitoring, smart monitoring and expert advice. From the OPL, the Voith team is available quickly and easily via remote support, regardless of whether short-term problems or long-term optimization projects are involved. OPL locations can already be found in Heidenheim, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan. The opening of additional regional offices is planned.

Following the announcement on 16 August 2022, Mondi is pleased to confirm that it has completed the acquisition of the Duino mill near Trieste, Italy, from the Burgo Group. Mondi plans to invest around €200 million in converting the existing lightweight coated mechanical paper machine at the mill into a high-quality, cost-competitive recycled containerboard machine with an annual capacity of around 420,000 tonnes. The mill is ideally located to source paper for recycling, supply Mondi’s corrugated solutions plants in Central Europe and Turkey as well as to serve the growing local Italian market. The converted machine is expected to start-up in 2025.

The Felix Schoeller Group has started 2023 with a newly formed Management Board. As part of the realignment, Hans-Christoph Gallenkamp is no longer responsible for global sales. From 1st January 2023, he will increase his focus on strategic issues as part of his responsibilities as chairman of the Management Board.

International technology group Andritz has received an order from Lipy Paper Mills Ltd. to supply wastepaper processing systems to the mill in Changine, Modonpur, Kanchpur, Sonargaon. These are the first Andritz RCF (Recycled Fiber) lines for Bangladesh. Start-up is scheduled for the third quarter in 2023. Andritz will supply key equipment for two RCF lines, featuring a total capacity of 150 t/d and processing LOCC (Local OCC) and MOW (Mixed Office Waste) as raw material for production of testliner, writing and printing paper.

Turkish tissue producer Essel Kâgit’s new Ahead 2.2L machine has exceeded its guaranteed production by a large margin and surpassed bulk and softness parameters. Supplied by Toscotec on a turnkey basis, PM3 had come online at Essel’s Osmaniye mill in Turkey in October 2021. After start-up, Toscotec has been providing continuous support to fine-tune the whole plant and achieve top performance.

Holmen Iggesund and Yangi^®, pioneers of dry forming technology, have entered into a long-term agreement to explore opportunities with a new type of sustainable packaging material. Under the agreement, the two companies will engage in close collaboration alongside brands, to further explore the opportunities of biobased and renewable packaging for the cosmetic and beauty industry.

Various factors support more sustainable paper production. Fabrics and roll covers, for example, can contribute to improved resource efficiency by directly optimizing production efficiency and because they are themselves sustainably manufactured. Based on many years of experience, Voith offers specific solutions for sustainable paper production, the advantages of which are proven by many positive customer references. A German graphic papers manufacturer, for example, reported that Voith's SolarPress roll covers have enabled energy savings due to a 1.5 percentage point higher dry content after the press section.

Mondi has received eight awards in five categories at this year’s WorldStar Global Packaging Awards. The WorldStar Awards recognise the best ideas, innovations and technologies on the market, with a focus on sustainability, product protection and end-user convenience. They are open to entries from packaging companies around the globe.

The largest convention for the pulp and paper industry in Central and South America, the International Congress and ExpoAcotepac 2023, will take place in Cali, Colombia from February 8-10, 2023. IDM Test will be onsite to present innovative testing devices for quality control and product optimization at the event, including the emtec Electronic product line.

bio-fibre news

Valmet will deliver boiler conversions and emission reduction solutions for Veolia Group’s Hungarian subsidiary CHP-Invest Kft at its power plant in Oroszlány, Hungary. The order includes the conversion of two coal-fired boilers to bubbling fluidized bed combustion to enable the boilers to run mainly on biomass fuel. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the fourth quarter 2022. The value of the order is approximately EUR 25 million. The converted boilers will be handed over to the customer in the first and second quarter of 2024.

Renewcell has successfully produced its first fiber material with the ADuro textile fiber preparation system from Andritz at its new site in Sundsvall, Sweden. Renewcell applies the process to produce pure dissolving pulp from 100% textile waste. The product is finally transformed by Renewcell’s customers into new garments for the circular clothing industry. The plant in Sundsvall recently reached its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on October 31, 2022.