INDIA – Paper manufacturing company Naini Papers has ordered key pulp and paper technologies from Finnish technology company Valmet.
Valmet will supply technologies, automation and services to Naini Papers’ cooking and fiber line rebuild and the new specialty paper machine, PM 3 at its mill in Kashipur, India.
For the cooking and fiber line rebuild, the pulp and paper technology developer will deliver a SuperBatch digester, a bleach plant upgrade, a TwinRoll Press, and other auxiliary equipment.
The company will also offer necessary engineering, complete process engineering and site services. The rebuild is anticipated to increase the capacity from the current 300 bone dry tonnes per day (bdtd) to 370 bdtd.
For the paper machine, Valmet will deliver headbox, air systems, reel, winder, its Industrial Internet applications and spare part packages.
The PM 3, which is the first of its kind in India, primarily produces woodfree coated and uncoated grades with a basis weight range of 40–170 grams per square meter. The machine has a design speed of 1200 meters per minute.
The investment will scale up the mill’s capacity and address the growing demand of speciality coated paper.
Naini Papers Limited managing director Pawan Agarwal said: “We have been successfully collaborating with Valmet in many projects, including pulp mills, and decided to choose them again for this rebuild expanding our pulp production capacity. The additional pulp will be used in the upcoming PM 3.
“We see big potential for specialty coated paper in the Indian market and are eyeing the environment-friendly flexible packaging segment. The paper produced by the PM 3 can replace plastics in packages.”
Valmet included the order in its orders received of the second quarter 2023. They are slated to be delivered in the first quarter 2025.
Financial terms of the orders have not been disclosed, but a delivery of this size and scope is typically valued between €40 million (US$43.50m) and €60 million (US$65.25m).
Earlier, Valmet won a tender to deliver a mill-wide optimization solution for Mercer International’s Rosenthal kraft pulp mill in Germany.
The mill-wide production planning application and change management services will help to automate decision-making and optimize the production across the fiber line, recovery line and pulp dryer.
An integral part of the solution is a two-year performance agreement for remote support via the Valmet Performance Center, ensuring sustainable results in the long term.
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