Navigator Paper Setúbal's PM 1 and PM 3 operate with seamed felts, supplied by Voith, in all press positions, marking a significant milestone for the paper machines. The successful transition resulted from a three-year-long collaborative development between the Setúbal and Voith teams with the common goal of transitioning all press felt positions to seamed felt designs.
Using seamed press felts makes changing felts faster with less workforce and without the need to cantilever the press section. “The installation of endless felts almost required the disassembly of the press section, with the seam felts, we have significantly reduced the risk associated with this activity and improved working conditions,” confirms Orlando Ferreira, Superintendent PM 1 & PM 3 at Navigator Paper Setúbal.
This milestone was achieved through outstanding cooperation between Voith and Navigator Paper Setúbal. “The challenge is to ensure that seam-marking meets satisfactory standards,” explains Ricardo Silva, Sales & Service Engineer at Voith Paper. “With dedication and persistence from both, the Setúbal and Voith teams, we have made this important step forward. We are very proud of this result and the benefits they deliver.”
Seamed felt adoption is increasing, and within Voith the required technology is in continuous development to support its use in marking-sensitive grades and press configurations. “With our seamed felt design, we are the first supplier to successfully run seamed felts on both PM 1 and PM 3 in Setúbal,” says Laslo Monte, Sales Director South-West EMEA at Voith Paper.
This significantly improves occupational safety in paper production and increases time efficiency. “This project is another example of our continuous desire to innovate, our enormous capacity for adaptation and, above all, our strong concern for people and their safety,” says Orlando Ferreira. “Finally, I would like to highlight Voith's involvement, which from the beginning was available to contribute to this optimization process, developing specific solutions adapted to our needs and eliminating the setbacks that arose.”