Driving Performance: Success stories from the global Pulp and Paper Industry

ANDRITZ was chosen to supply two PrimeLineTM W 2000 tissue lines, TM1 and TM2, complete with stock preparation and automation systems for its Zhangzhou mill in Fujian Province, China.

In SPECTRUM, we often focus on major developments: World-first technologies. Environmental breakthroughs. New plants that create state-of-the-art products, economic value, and jobs. But ANDRITZ also spends a lot of time doing the ordinary things, too. The less-spectacular, but still essential, fixes that help a paper mill keep on doing do what it does best. World-changing? Perhaps not every time. Important? Always.

n a groundbreaking project, ANDRITZ modernized the KM3 board machine at MM Frohnleiten GmbH, Europe’s leading cartonboard manufacturer.

UPM’s Paso de los Toros pulp mill started up in central Uruguay in 2023 and is now in the process of ramping up to its design capacity of 2.1 million tonnes a year. ANDRITZ was chosen once again as the turnkey supplier after the positive experience with its technology at UPM’s first mill in the country, Fray Bentos, which started up 16 years ago.

There is nothing like a world-beating challenge to keep design and production engineers at the top of their game. Bracell’s Project Star, situated in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state, Brazil, certainly provided ANDRITZ pulp technology experts with a host of challenges, and, as usual, world class solutions were provided.

A logistical challenge and pioneering technology: the Waste-to-Energy plant at Aschaffenburg is a success story drawing on a wide range of ANDRITZ competencies, including the flexibility to manage a very compact site.

An industry benchmark in the making

Huatai Paper’s mill in Dongying, Shandong Province, China, has the world's largest mechanical pulping line for production of printing and writing paper

Switching on demand between kraft and dissolving pulp

We need to reduce the energy our buildings consume to combat climate change. ANDRITZ and naturheld have therefore pushed the sustainability and technical boundaries in wood-based insulation.

Cooperation project in circular economy for used Forming Fabrics and Press Felts started.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) can make an important contribution to the urgently needed reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. ANDRITZ has various types of solutions in its portfolio that help customers to remove CO₂ from their flue gases which can be stored, or processed for further use in making other products.

Recovering and Reusing Secondary Heat Across Pulp Mill Islands

In SPECTRUM, we often focus on major developments: World-first technologies. Environmental breakthroughs. New plants that create state-of-the-art products, economic value, and jobs. But ANDRITZ also spends a lot of time doing the ordinary things, too. The less-spectacular, but still essential, fixes that help a paper mill keep on doing do what it does best. World-changing? Perhaps not every time. Important? Always.

n a groundbreaking project, ANDRITZ modernized the KM3 board machine at MM Frohnleiten GmbH, Europe’s leading cartonboard manufacturer.

UPM’s Paso de los Toros pulp mill started up in central Uruguay in 2023 and is now in the process of ramping up to its design capacity of 2.1 million tonnes a year. ANDRITZ was chosen once again as the turnkey supplier after the positive experience with its technology at UPM’s first mill in the country, Fray Bentos, which started up 16 years ago.

There is nothing like a world-beating challenge to keep design and production engineers at the top of their game. Bracell’s Project Star, situated in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state, Brazil, certainly provided ANDRITZ pulp technology experts with a host of challenges, and, as usual, world class solutions were provided.

A logistical challenge and pioneering technology: the Waste-to-Energy plant at Aschaffenburg is a success story drawing on a wide range of ANDRITZ competencies, including the flexibility to manage a very compact site.

An industry benchmark in the making

Huatai Paper’s mill in Dongying, Shandong Province, China, has the world's largest mechanical pulping line for production of printing and writing paper

Switching on demand between kraft and dissolving pulp

We need to reduce the energy our buildings consume to combat climate change. ANDRITZ and naturheld have therefore pushed the sustainability and technical boundaries in wood-based insulation.

Cooperation project in circular economy for used Forming Fabrics and Press Felts started.

ANDRITZ once again teamed up with students from the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) when it was looking for a solution to reuse heat and steam at pulp mills.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) can make an important contribution to the urgently needed reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. ANDRITZ has various types of solutions in its portfolio that help customers to remove CO₂ from their flue gases which can be stored, or processed for further use in making other products.

Recovering and Reusing Secondary Heat Across Pulp Mill Islands

ANDRITZ is currently supplying all the process islands for the mill, as well as being responsible for civil construction, commissioning, and start-up on an EPCC basis.

With Significant Environmental and Financial Returns.The Huge Benefits of an Approach System Rebuild

Guangxi Chongzuo Lelin Forestry Development Company is part of the Lelin Group, which is headquartered in Nanning, Guangxi, China.

Over the past 10 years Klabin has been working virtually non-stop to bring its Puma projects I and II to life in Paraná state, southern Brazil. With the Puma I pulp mill starting up in 2016 and Puma II phase I and phase II starting up in 2021 and mid – 2023 respectively, the company has succeeded in creating an integrated mill that virtually knows no bounds when it comes to pulp, paper, and board qualities, types, grades, and ranges.

Metsä Fibre's new Kemi bioproduct mill is set to become a showcase in sustainability for the global industry. ANDRITZ was chosen to supply environmentally efficient technology to achieve the mill’s Zero Waste goal.

Significantly less energy and top quality: the brief for two new PrimeLine tissue machines in Romania perfectly matched ANDRITZ’s strengths.

ANDRITZ has become the market leader in systems for the removal of chlorides and potassium from the kraft recovery cycle, components which often reduce recovery boiler efficiency in terms of fouling or corrosion. Pulp giant Suzano recently started up an Ash ReCrystallization (ARC) chloride removal plant at its Aracruz unit in Brazil.

On its 10th anniversary of start-up last year, the mill was recorded as having produced a total of 11 years of production – a full year of additional pulp!

Biomass Gasification for Lime Kilns — Going fossil fuel free is an urgent sustainability topic that has become even more critical due to the current global energy crisis. It is clear we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.

Perlen Papier is Switzerland’s only producer of newsprint and magazine paper. The company runs a two-machine mill that features one of the largest, fastest and most modern newsprint machines in Europe. The mill is highly focused, making only publication papers and produces 360,000 t/a of newsprint and 200,000 t/a of LWC magazine papers.

At their mill in Spokane, Washington, USA, the team at Inland Empire had been struggling with unpredictable pulp quality, and that was holding back their paper production. Having tried everything else they could think of, they asked ANDRITZ to carry out a Technological Audit on the mechanical pulping line. The results surprised them – in the best possible way.

Meeting Smurfit Kappa’s Environmental and Sustainability Goals! Packaging giant Smurfit Kappa is extremely cautious and demanding when it comes to making sure sustainability goals are met in its operations, often going above and beyond when it comes to meeting environmental regulations. The company recently embarked on its biggest investment program ever – the Future Energy Project – at its Nettingsdorf mill in Austria. ANDRITZ was chosen to supply key technology in order to achieve its sustainability ambitions.

Brazilian pulp giant Suzano is not only the world’s largest producer of eucalyptus pulp, it is also a dynamic innovator, intent on taking advantage of the new wave of environmentally sound products that are possible from eucalyptus-based hardwood pulp. ANDRITZ and Suzano teamed up on an ambitious project to convert an existing paper machine to make fluff pulp.

ANDRITZ Novimpianti is working with Sofidel on a groundbreaking solution to cut fossil fuel out of the tissue drying equation.

Making every fiber count- Altri’s Celbi mill is a classic example of the concept of the circular bioeconomy in action.

Metsä Fibre’s Äänekoski bioproduct mill in Finland is predicting the future utilizing the latest digital technology from ANDRITZ for its white liquor plant.

Interview with Naveen Chenna, Head of Business and Technology Development, ANDRITZ

Consumer demand and textile industry targets are driving the circularity agenda, but it is technology that will actually make it happen.

Essity’s mission to produce more-from-less drives an effort to integrate more “circularity” into its business: from responsible raw material sourcing to more efficient production with a smaller climate footprint. The latest example is its innovative project to convert agricultural residue into bleached pulp and utilize it in high-quality tissue products. ANDRITZ is a technology partner in making this happen.

ANDRITZ Smelt Spout Cleaning Systems are proving to be something of a hit with recovery boiler operators world-wide, with several successful installations and more than 20 new systems on order. Nevertheless, the work never stops in developing the robotic systems further; ANDRITZ experts have devised a number of new features that help to provide an even safer working environment, as well as new intelligent tools for managing efficiency in a recovery boiler.

Thai tissue producer BJC Cellox needed a new tissue line to take advantage of growing demand for its high-quality products. ANDRITZ was chosen to supply a complete turnkey line including a PrimeLineCOMPACT tissue machine.

Suzano's Jacareí Mill saw the cooking process being standardized with Metris OPP. Learn how ANDRITZ's advanced controls were able to reduce the standard deviation of the Kappa number and to increase pulp mill productivity.

ANDRITZ accepted the challenge to offer online support for the replacing of the siphon system of Tjiwi Kimia’s Yankee in Indonesia. Because of travel restrictions due to COVID-19, Yankee service experts had to provide remote support from Austria. Nevertheless, distance was no obstacle to the project‘s success.

Going fossil-fuel free can throw up unexpected challenges. After changing the fuel used from natural gas to fossil-free gas, an ANDRITZ Customer wanted to continue improving its environmental footprint by reducing dust emissions. ANDRITZ successfully delivered a tailor-made solution installed into a tight space at a pulp mill in Finland.

The Suzano Unit in Imperatriz was able to reduce the unproductive time in Pulp Drying by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced controls in the tail threading system on its pulp drying machines. The partnership with ANDRITZ has contributed to advancing the pulp mill's digital transformation process.

ANDRITZ helped LEIPA's Schwedt paper mill reduce flocculent consumption in paper sludge dewatering with Metris addIQ RheoScan, an optical measuring system for automatic polymer dosage. At the same time, this pioneering project has raised the degree of plant automation and increased the operating reliability.

Even when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its most serious in Portugal, Papeleira Coreboard – utilizing remote assistance from ANDRITZ – still managed to start up its new, state-of-the-art LC pulping system.

Brazilian pulp and paper giant Klabin is further closing the circular sustainability loop at its Puma I and Puma II projects in the south of the country. Soon it will be making its own sulfuric acid from captured non-condensable gases at its Ortigueira mill site. ANDRITZ expertise is paving the way.

ANDRITZ played a major part in Stora Enso’s Oulu mill success in reaching a new era as the mill was converted from fine paper to kraftliner production. The virgin fiberbased kraftliner produced by the mill will serve the strongly growing global packaging market.

Mondi Swiecie’s integrated mill in Poland needed to increase its pulp capacity by 25% to meet growing demand from its five five paper machines using virgin fiber. The solution was a complex but hugely successful combination of utilizing older equipment at the same time as installing new, state-of-the-art technology from ANDRITZ.

Despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Volga Pulp and Paper Mill in Russia, along with ANDRITZ experts operating remotely, started up a new TMP line on schedule.

The testliner and fluting mill in Trebsen, Germany, used to send more than 1,000 tonnes a year of useable fibres to its rejects. Challenged by this obvious waste of resources, the mill asked ANDRITZ to help keep the valuable fibres in the production process. With ANDRITZ’s Dilution Water Upgrade in its tail-screening system, Trebsen is now using the fibres it once threw away, saving money instead of wasting it.

Papier- und Kartonfabrik Varel, in northern Germany, had an urgent refiner problem. ANDRITZ not only solved it in time, but also helped prepare the mill for future expansion.

Over recent times pulp mills have become much more than simply “tonnes per year” in terms of revenue. First came the added extra of energy and district heating, then extracts of tall oil and turpentine, now all sorts of areas for extra revenue are being identified at pulp mills. As a clear example – and with the help of ANDRITZ – Swedish market pulp giant, Södra, recently started up the world’s first biomethanol plant at its Mönsterås mill in Sweden.

ANDRITZ and Resolute FP Clermont Mill in Canada created a world first recently by completely revolutionizing refiner load control and stability on two of its eight refiners. ANDRITZ’s Hydraulic Commander was the secret ingredient, with added bespoke automation.

Despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Volga Pulp and Paper Mill in Russia, along with ANDRITZ experts operating remotely, started up a new TMP line on schedule.

The testliner and fluting mill in Trebsen, Germany, used to send more than 1,000 tonnes a year of useable fibres to its rejects. Challenged by this obvious waste of resources, the mill asked ANDRITZ to help keep the valuable fibres in the production process. With ANDRITZ’s Dilution Water Upgrade in its tail-screening system, Trebsen is now using the fibres it once threw away, saving money instead of wasting it.

We are taking digitalization to the next level – the Metris Performance Center at ANDRITZ supports you remotely during commissioning and start-up phases.

Vajda Papír sets up a greenfield tissue mill with ANDRITZ latest tissue and automation technologies.

Running a pulp mill successfully requires that all processes, technology, and equipment work in harmony across the entire system with the whole chain being only as strong as its weakest link. Metris DryQ™ is the new intelligent solution from ANDRITZ, designed for monitoring data from drying systems, helping to strengthen a vital link in the production chain to optimize the drying performance.

Suzano Imperatriz, located in Maranhão, northern Brazil, is one of the new breed of giant pulp mills. The mill has recently undergone a number of improvements including the implementation of a smart bleaching system from ANDRITZ that is making a real difference when it comes to chemical consumption.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world’s industries, shutting down operations and leading to the mass furloughing and laying off of workers and contractors. However, due to its massive importance to the country of Chile as well as to the global pulp and paper industry, Arauco’s MAPA project has continued, although in a much-adapted way.

ANDRITZ is fully aware of what downtime means to its customers in the paper and board industry – however, to keep ahead in a competitive environment, rebuilding, updating, and refurbishing equipment is essential. The secret is to plan well in advance, shut down quickly, get the work done fast, and then be up and running again as soon as possible.

The pulp making process hasn’t inherently changed over the years; however, ANDRITZ has had a lot of success with reinventing processes and technology in and around mills to increase capacity, improve quality, and cut operating costs. The LimeWhite-H White Liquor Disc Filter is another game-changing development.

Wood, pulp, and paper have long determined the fortunes of the Pöls community in Styria. Here Zellstoff Pöls AG produces longfiber sulfate pulp and kraft papers. With an additional production line based on the exceptional ANDRITZ PrimeLine paper machine, the Heinzel Group site is now focusing more than ever on the world market.

Arauco’s MAPA project in Horcones, Chile is now in full swing; the earthmoving and foundation building has almost been completed and the civil works have started. ANDRITZ is a major supplier to the project and has been closely working together with Arauco, which will see the Chilean company become the third largest producer of eucalyptus pulp in the world. Start-up is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

CMPC Biopackaging – Boxboard and ANDRITZ have been collaborating successfully on ramping up mechanical pulp production for a number of years. The mill has gone from strength to strength, increasing capacity, to supply the demanding global market for high-quality, lightweight, folding boxboard.

ANDRITZ recently supplied the very first Bubbling Fluidized Bed (BFB) biomass boiler to the country of Denmark, which will assist in nationwide efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. The new boiler is installed at Helsingør Kraftvarmeværk’s new district heat and power generation plant, which is immaculate in design as well as operation.

In Spectrum, we often have the privilege of reporting on new technological breakthroughs. But in this article about upgrading BM1 at PJSC Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill in Ukraine, that is not so much the focus. The new shoe press and calender from ANDRITZ have brought gains, true, but what was arguably most interesting in this case was …

Stora Enso’s Imatra Mill, located in eastern Finland, is one of the world’s largest producers of liquid packaging board. Now, thanks to the latest ANDRITZ flash drying technology, the mill is also able to fully utilize its BCTMP plant, which can now produce dry pulp for its internal use, as well as for the market.

Arauco’s MAPA project in Chile represents not only the most important expansion the company has ever undertaken, it is also currently the only major eucalyptus pulp project taking place in the world. The company operates five mills in Chile, one in Argentina, and has a joint venture in Uruguay, together with Stora Enso.

Sun Paper Holding Laos started up its 300,000 t/a greenfield pulp mill near the small town of Xepon, Savannakhet Province, Laos, last year after just 20 months from the signing of supplier contracts. ANDRITZ was chosen to supply various key technologies for the project.

Autonomous automobiles use a variety of techniques to gather data about their surroundings and feed this data to advanced control systems that interpret the inputs and identify appropriate navigation paths. The development of autonomous pulp mills using Metris OPP is following a similar path – and Eldorado Celulose is an early adopter of this technology. The results have had a big economic payback.

Smurfit Kappa Nettingsdorf has been something of a trailblazer through the years. It was one of the first paper mills ever to use a shoe press and one of the first to try out “continuous batch” pulp cooking. And now, they have another world first to report …

When integrated Swedish mill Holmen Paper Hallsta wanted to further enhance its book paper production process, it called on ANDRITZ to carry out a rather unique project of utilizing two second-hand twin wire presses, and an existing, pre-used screw press to increase capacity and improve pulp quality for its PM 12.

In modern mill and wood processing plants, adding value all along the production chain has become a “must have”. ANDRITZ Universal Shredders provide a vital link in the chain by solving waste wood problems at the same time as turning them into valuable, sellable products.

On October 28, 2017, Laakirchen Papier AG in Austria celebrated production of its first containerboard reel: a milestone in an ambitious rebuild project that was of great strategic importance for the papermaker and for the main supplier – ANDRITZ. At the beginning of January 2019, more than one year later, PM 10 was running with basis weights of around 100 g/m2 at a speed of 1,300 to 1,330 m/min. CEO Thomas Welt comments, “We have achieved the goals set for speed development.”

Manifattura Fontana in Italy recently doubled capacity by installing a state-of-the-art neXline needlepunch line supplied by ANDRITZ.

The largest engineering project northern Sweden has ever seen was completed recently with the doubling of capacity at SCA Östrand’s softwood kraft pulp mill. The project – named Helios after the God of the Sun in Greek mythology – is now setting a new global benchmark in high-performance pulp production. ANDRITZ supplied some of the latest key technology to the completely rebuilt mill.

Henan Tianbang Group Paper Company takes enormous pride in the quality of its fine paper products that are known and used all over China, as well as being exported around the world. When the company decided to end its dependence on market pulp and produce its own mechanical pulp, ANDRITZ was the first to be called.

Major, definitive research into nonwoven raw materials, applications and production models and methods are all in a day’s work for the European Center for Innovative Textiles (CETI) in France. The latest ANDRITZ state-of-the-art air-through bonding nonwoven technology is right at the heart of the center’s globally renowned research.

The Holmen Group’s Braviken Paper Mill, situated in eastern Sweden, has always prided itself on being at the top of its game when it comes to production efficiency and quality of final product. When it needed to further enhance its TMP’s capacity and efficiency – but crucially keep costs to a minimum – ANDRITZ was at hand to provide a tailor-made solution.

Södra Cell is one of those far-sighted northern European pulp producers that is constantly looking for ways to become fossil-fuel free and to make high-grade products in the most environmentally sound ways possible. ANDRITZ recently aided Södra Cell towards its sustainability target by supplying the latest in evaporation plant technology to its Mörrum mill in southern Sweden.

When you’ve been in business for 130 years, you learn a few things about adapting to change. So when Germany introduced new emissions targets, UPM’s Schongau mill stayed ahead of the game with a major upgrade of its bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler. Welcome to futureproofing.

Xerium acquisition boosts ANDRITZ Fabrics and Rolls to full-line supplier.

Set among thickly bamboo-forested hills, interspersed by valleys with clear running streams and impressive waterfalls, the Guizhou Chitianhua Paper Industry’s tissue mill is one of the most environmentally important production facilities in the rapidly growing Taison Group. ANDRITZ recently supplied the mill with two PrimeLineST tissue machines including complete stock preparation to keep the growth on track.

It sits like a gleaming city surrounded by a sea of green. Fibria’s Três Lagoas pulp mill is now one of the world’s largest pulp making facilities. With the new Horizonte 2 line starting up at the mill in August last year, the company is on target to produce over 7.25 million tonnes a year of top quality, prime eucalyptus pulp.

a rebuild for premium production

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has often made it abundantly clear that its ambition is to be the No.1 supplier of pulp and paper around the world. The company’s latest 2.8 million tonnes a year pulp development, OKI, is a signal that those ambitions remain firmly in place. ANDRITZ supplied what is now the world’s largest recovery boiler to the mill, which is right at the center of the greenfield development in the province of South Sumatra, Indonesia.

Sun Paper’s Honghe mill, based in Shandong Province, China, needed a tailor-made handling system to process rejects from two OCC production lines feeding its PM 31 and PM 32 paper machines. ANDRITZ successfully delivered one system in 2016 which has been quickly followed by a second.

Indian packaging and paperboard giant, ITC Paperboard & Specialty Papers, is well on its way to achieving the challenging ambition of becoming 100% self-sufficient in local wood and fiber supply for its Bhadrachalam Mill in the state of Telangana, Southern India.

Metsä Group’s Äänekoski bioproduct mill has been the talk of the global pulp and paper industry for some time now with its outstanding environmental efficiencies and ambitions for new products derived from wood. Starting up in August 2017, ANDRITZ supplied crucial technology to help make the Äänekoski bioproduct mill a showcase production site for the 21st Century.

ANDRITZ has been a firm and reliable partner in Celbi’s remarkable transformation which has seen it become a world leader in efficient pulp making.

There is a lot of news available about Google, Uber, and the automobile manufacturers’ efforts to develop autonomous automobiles (i.e., unattended and self-driving vehicles capable of sensing their environment and navigating without human input).

Saves time and money

The classic children’s nursery rhyme continues … “you’ll be in for a big surprise”.

One of the world’s largest biomass projects, Värtaverket biomass CHP plant, has started up in Stockholm.

An explosion hit the boiler in Pöls, leaving it irreparably damaged and needing a replacement. ANDRITZ took up the challenge.

ANDRITZ has recently completed four service operations in just four months at Mayr-Melnhof’s FS Karton Neuss mill.

ANDRITZ supported Leipa during the rebuild of the screening plant in DIP1.

Following the latest in a line of investments, Iggesund Paperboard’s mill in Workington, UK recently restarted its board machine after ANDRITZ rebuilt the press section – increasing capacity 10% and reducing energy consumption by almost 10%.

The Yankee cylinder is the heart of a tissue machine. To keep the heart of their machines healthy, Slovenian tissue producer Paloma Hygienic Paper relies on on-site Yankee service from ANDRITZ.

The opportunity to work on a greenfield mill project is the dream of many people in our industry. The people who helped create the 1.5 million t/a Puma Mill in Brazil exactly on time lived their dream.

ANDRITZ recently added to Sweden’s environmental commitment by supplying a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to keep residents of Mjölby warm in the winter – using renewable fuels from local forests.

The Woodland mill in Maine was near extinction in 2010 when a company with a vision bought the assets, injected USD 180 million (EUR 155 million), and changed the course to value-added tissue production.

The new ANDRITZ SulphitePower recovery boiler improves production costs and environmental performance at Tembec in Canada while providing steady, long-term revenue for green electricity.

UPM’s recently completed investment project resulted in about a 25% increase in pulp production at the Kymi mill in Finland.

After ANDRITZ delivered the major chemical recovery equipment, it provided also technical services, rebuilds, upgrades, and modernizations to help keep the mill updated and efficient.

Thanks to ANDRITZ new 3-loop deinking plant, lower-cost recycled fiber has been substituted for costly virgin fiber.

“Hai” is Japanese for the English word “Yes!” Corelex Shin-Ei recently started up two identical ANDRITZ tissue machines at its greenfield mill near Mount Fuji. The machines are “Robust. Efficient. Environmentally friendly. Easy-to-use.”