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

ipw news

On January 16, 2024, Shandong Huatai Paper and Voith Paper successfully started up PM 11 in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. PM 11, a former newsprint machine, was successfully rebuilt for the production of high-quality graphic paper. The machine's web width is 10.2 meters and the design speed 1,800 m/min. With the help of Voith technologies, the annual capacity of the rebuilt PM 11 can be increased from 400,000 to 520,000 tons.

The international forest industry event, Pulp & Beyond 2024, will address topics such as climate change, the green transition and the future prospects of the forest industry. The event will also feature discussions on global economy and politics, as well as the importance of innovation. Pulp & Beyond 2024 will take place from Wednesday to Thursday, April 10th to 11th, 2024, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. The main stage program of the event has been released, offering top-notch keynote speeches and panel discussions. The main stage program will be hosted and moderated by André Noël Chaker. The program for the Speaker’s Corner on the event's second stage will be announced in March.

The teams from Kanzan and GAW technologies recently started-up the new working stations for the curtain coater including deaeration. Kanzan belongs to the Oji Group, one of the largest paper producers in Japan, and is one of the experts in the area of thermal and inkjet paper. At the Düren (Germany) location, the company employs around 300 people and produces on one paper machine and two coating machines with working widths of 3.20 m. The speed for a weight range of 40 - 180 g/m² is 850m/min.

Mondi has completed the acquisition of Hinton Pulp mill in Alberta, Canada, from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd (West Fraser) for a total consideration of USD 5 million. The mill has the capacity to produce around 250,000 tonnes of pulp per annum and will provide the Group with access to local, high-quality fibre from a well-established wood basket as part of a long-term partnership with West Fraser.

Voith introduces OnView.Energy, an innovative digitalization solution for energy monitoring that enables paper manufacturers to visualize, monitor and reduce energy consumption to lower their operating costs while minimizing environmental footprint. As part of the full-line supplier’s Papermaking 4.0 portfolio, OnView.Energy is based on the IIoT platform dataPARC cloud. With this launch, Voith strengthens its position as a supplier of digital solutions in the paper industry.

International technology group Andritz has successfully started up a new high-capacity chemi-thermomechanical pulping system supplied to Wuzhou Special Paper (Jiangxi) Co. Ltd. in Hukou County, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, China. This is the largest fiberline worldwide with only one high-consistency refiner as the heart of the process.

Sustainability and environmentally friendly solutions are increasingly influencing our everyday lives. Brand owners, consumers and the European Parliament are demanding alternatives to plastic. In line with the changing requirements from the customers Drewsen is focussed on developing new grades that are fit for the future as sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic. Besides the existing grades Probarrier PFAS free Greaseproof Paper and Prostraw Paper for manufacturing Drinking Straws the company is now pleased to re-introduce the quality Proseal after a forced pause following a lack of raw materials.

Toscotec will supply an Optima 1800 slitter rewinder to the Navigator Company at their Cacia production base in Aveiro, Portugal. The start-up is planned for the second half of 2024. The new rewinder is equipped with tension and nip control for high quality winding, and it will process close to 2,800 mm width parent reels using two unwind stands. Toscotec will also supply the associated roll handling and trim removal system designed to feed the rewinder’s trim paper back to the tissue machine to maximize fiber savings across the entire production line. The service package includes full onsite erection, as well as erection supervision, training, commissioning, and start-up assistance.

Valmet will supply key technology to Shandong Jin Tian He Paper’s board machine PM 13 food grade folding boxboard line in China. The delivery will include headboxes, a former and press section, finishing technologies, automation and services. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the fourth quarter 2023. The value of the order will not be disclosed, but such an order is typically worth of EUR 20 million to EUR 30 million. The start-up of the folding boxboard machine is scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

bio-fibre news

To maintain its strong position and develop an even more competitive industrial structure over time, Södra Wood is consolidating its sawn timber operations.?The aim is to achieve economies of scale by relocating production volumes to Södra Wood’s larger production units.

The EU Commission published its communication on 2040 climate targets. A non-binding text which starts a process to fix a new milestone for the Union’s CO₂ emission levels. The proposed target is ambitious, as called for by the scientific community. It should first and foremost be based on complex economic and physical realities that no unique scenario proposed by the Commission properly assesses.

Full-line supplier Voith is intensifying its commitment to the 4evergreen alliance with a number of pioneering projects. Among other things, the focus is on innovative processes for dissolving barrier papers on an industrial scale. The alliance consists of over 110 members representing the entire life cycle of fiber-based packaging – from forest owners to producers, designers, brand owners and recyclers. Together, they share their expertise to develop tools and guidelines for an even more sustainable sector. As a member of the “Novel Recycling Technologies” Working Group within 4evergreen’s Innovation Workstream, Voith is instrumental in developing new solutions. Members from other workstreams also draw on Voith's expertise in stock preparation and recycling concepts.