Valmet will be providing Valmet DNA Automation System (DCS) and Valmet IQ Quality Control System (QCS) to Schumacher Packaging’s Myszków facility in Poland for the rebuilding of the board machine 2. The objective is to raise the plant’s output effectiveness and product quality. Initiation of the installation is planned for May 2023. The delivery from Valmet is a component of the BM2 rebuild, which aims to increase the mill’s capacity in order to better fulfil the rising demand for customised packaging solutions.

The purchase was one of the orders Valmet received in the third quarter of 2022. The order’s value shall not be disclosed.

Modernization of the stock preparations

“We are delighted to provide our automation solutions for the ambitious BM2 rebuild project at Schumacher’s Myszkow plant. We look forward to supporting them with our proven technology and sustainable solutions,” says Adam Ossera, Sales Manager in Valmet’s Automation Systems business line, Poland.

The delivery from Valmet consists of modernization of the stock preparations and board machine DCS, expansion of the current QCS with an additional scanner as well as upgradation of quality controls.

Björn Schumacher, CEO of Schumacher Packaging Group explains how the aim of this strategic investment is to expand their dimensions and ability and competitiveness to fulfil the market demand. He also mentions Valmet’s capacity for a wide range of automation capabilities, process expertise, and proven long-term local service support.

In Europe, one of the most renowned family firms in the sector is the Schumacher Packaging Group. It has 27 branches in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands and is headquartered in Ebersdorf bei Coburg, Germany. With five production facilities, the business ranks third in the local Polish packaging industry and is one of Europe’s top producers of corrugated and solid board packaging solutions. After Schumacher Packaging acquired the Myszkow mill in 2016, a significant investment programme allowed it to transition from producing newspaper to corrugated board by 2019.

Natron-Hayat Pulp and Paper Mill in Maglaj, Bosnia-Herzegovina, has ordered a press technology upgrade from Valmet. The delivery includes two refurbished Twin Roll Presses and additional equipment and services to secure the trouble-free operation of the presses.

The order was included in Valmet's orders received of the first quarter 2022. The delivery will be completed in September 2022. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

One of Valmet’s TwinRoll Presses will be installed in the pulp mill to increase the efficiency of the washing plant stage. The other will replace three old existing presses. It will improve the dewatering capacity of the press section’s high consistency refining stage before the sack paper machine. This type of upgrade service improves process reliability and performance and is a good example of Valmet’s sustainable solutions and circularity.

“We are currently planning to increase our production capacity, and the press technology update supplied by Valmet will have a significant positive effect on the operational conditions of the Maglaj mill”, says Mirko Stanic, Executive Technical Director, Natron-Hayat Maglaj.

“We are very proud of the possibility to start working closer with Natron-Hayat. I believe this delivery will help us establish a long-lasting partnership with the customer to maximize the reliability and optimize the performance of the Maglaj Pulp and Paper Mill. In addition, it increases Valmet installed base and references in the fast-growing and strategically important packaging paper market”, says Balazs Hornyak, Mill Sales Manager, Valmet.

Technical information about the delivery

Valmet’s delivery will include two refurbished Twin Roll Presses with an electrical roll drive upgrade and additional equipment, such as a medium consistency pump and electric drives. It will also include supervision, erection, and start-up.

About the customer Natron-Hayat d.o.o.

Natron-Hayat d.o.o. Maglaj is located in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The mill’s main products are kraft paper, shopping bags, corrugated board and other packaging products. Natron-Hayat d.o.o. is a member of the international Hayat Holding Group.

VALMET  
Corporate Communications

For further information, please contact:
Balazs Hornyak, Mill Sales Manager, Valmet, tel. +43 664 88254913
Sara Kaczmarek, Product Sales Manager Pulp, Valmet, tel. +43 664 1002770

Valmet will supply a complete tissue production line including stock preparation, automation system and a Focus rewinder to Arkhbum Tissue Group LLC. The new Advantage DCT 200 tissue line will be installed at the company’s mill in Vorsino industrial park, Kaluga region in Russia. The start-up is planned for the first quarter of 2023.

The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the third quarter 2021. The value of the order will not be disclosed. However, a project of this size and scope is typically valued at around EUR 20-40 million.

The new tissue production line from Valmet is part of Arkhbum Tissue Group’s development project aimed at reaching a total capacity of 210 thousand tons of high-quality tissue and towel products made from own pulp.

“We are happy to receive this prestigious order and excited to continue the journey with Arkhbum Tissue Group. Our collaboration began with the supply of a Focus Reelite rewinder for their first tissue line and now we will continue with the supply of the complete line. The Advantage DCT200 is a reliable and highly efficient technology, and we are convinced it will contribute to the success of Arkhbum Tissue Group in a competitive market,” says Jan Erikson, Vice President Sales, Tissue Mills business unit, Paper business line, Valmet.

Valmet Oyj has completed its acquisition of the Paper Machinery Producer (PMP) Group, one of Poland’s oldest companies in the pulp and paper sector. The sale was completed for a reported €64 million after contracts and deals were agreed upon between the two on the 11th of September, 2020.

Founded in 1854 by H. Füllner, the PMP Group is a B2B, global supplier of technology and machine rebuilds for their clients’ small and medium-sized paper and pulp industrial machinery. It employs an estimated 650 staff across three countries —Poland, Italy, and the People’s Republic of China— and possessed a 2019 fiscal year net sale total of €70 million.

Their acquisition will embed them as part of Valmet’s paper business division: they will be included in Valmet’s fiscal reports for the first time in their upcoming fourth-quarter 2020 report.
The president of Valmet’s paper business line, Jan Vähäpesola, stated: "The acquisition was completed as planned and we are happy to welcome six hundred and fifty new colleagues to Valmet.”
He also expressed confidence that the acquisition would benefit and compliment both companies, and that it would open up new business opportunities. “The combination of Valmet's current paper technology and services for wise and fast machines and rebuilds, together with PMP's product portfolio, competence and presence in strategic markets, will create new business opportunities.”

Valmet has been commissioned by Umka Cardboard to rebuild a board machine at its Serbian facility starting later in 2020.  The aim is to increase the total cardboard capacity in the plant. 

Valmet will be rebuilding machine PM 1 with major changes anticipated to the wet end.  There will also be improvements to the approach flow system, broke collection and the addition of 3 OptiFlo Foudrinier headboxes.  The rebuild will help Umka Cardboard meet the increasing demands for the production of high quality board.  An OptiFormer Multi forming section will be added alongside other modifications to the press section. 

Umka Cardboard is also expecting delivery of a curtain coating station, air dryers and new winders along with all the relevant spare parts to be delivered.  A two-year support contract has been negotiated with on-demand expert help available to help Umka maximize the potential of the rebuild.

The PM1 wWill be used to produced chipboard grade within the weight range of 160-450 g/m2.  The 3.7cm wide machine will design the new board at a rate of 600 m/min increasing the daily capacity to 620 tonnes.

It is anticipated that the value of the order was in the region of  €15-20million

Umka Cardboard supplies multiple industries, including food, textiles, pharmaceutics and automotive production.  It remains a leader in cardboard production across southeastern Europe.

Valmet and Kotkamills Oy have signed an extensive automation service agreement. In addition to supporting production processes, the agreement will secure high availability of automation at the entire Kotkamills mill and especially on the new consumer packaging board machine BM 2. This is one of Valmet's most extensive service agreements for automation in Finland to date.

Kotkamills recently converted its printing paper machine PM 2 into BM 2 to produce high-quality barrier board and folding boxboard. The machine was started up in July 2016. Valmet supplied key technology and automation solutions, including automation, information and quality management systems, analyzers, profilers, a machine vision system as well as process and control development services for the grade conversion project.

"We had a limited service agreement with Valmet earlier. With our new BM 2, we felt we now needed more advise and support, since there is still a lot of development work to be done on the new board machine. And Valmet has strong know-how in automation and boardmaking," says Jan Lousa, Project Manager, Electrical Automation, Kotkamills.

"With the comprehensive services, we will help Kotkamills manage the processes in their entirety, speed up startups, as well as optimize production and end product quality. These services will ensure that the mill can now get everything out of its processes. The service agreement well reflects Valmet's new service approach - the Shared Journey Forward. This offering covers reliability and performance services as well as the introduction of new technologies," points out Emilia Torttila-Miettinen, Customer Service Manager, Services, Automation, Valmet.

Information about Valmet's service agreement

According to the new service agreement, there will be an on-site Valmet service engineer at the Kotkamills mill most of the time. He will participate in mill-wide automation-related maintenance, development and coordination in cooperation with the mill and other partners named by the mill. When needed, the mill will have access to services provided by Valmet's application experts.

Additionally, the agreement includes process performance monitoring and process control upkeep, 24-hour on-call service, spare parts, annual condition check-ups of the automation, quality control as well as process and quality vision systems, analyzer maintenance, antivirus service, regular follow-up and development meetings with the mill, along with reporting through the Valmet portal. Valmet and Kotkamills also signed a development agreement that covers the advanced controls at the digester and causticizing plants.

Information about the customer Kotkamills

Kotkamills Oy makes innovative products out of a renewable natural resource, wood. Its products include high-quality specialty laminating papers Absorbex® and Imprex® as well as ecological sawn products. In 2016, the company started to produce fully recyclable consumer packaging boards in Kotka, Finland. The products are environmentally friendly, recyclable and safe to use.