Stora Enso has entrusted Voith with the conversion of a former paper machine. The machine at the northern Finnish site in Oulu previously produced coated graphic papers. After the successful conversion, the machine will produce high-quality folding boxboard and coated kraft back (CKB). With a production volume of 750,000 tons per year, start-up is scheduled for early 2025.
“We are very pleased that Stora Enso has chosen our full-line solution,” says Michael Trefz, President – Projects, Voith Paper. “The order builds our existing partnership with Stora Enso further. After the conversion, the board machine will be a high-tech plant with the latest standards to produce high-quality board packaging.”
To achieve the high production volume, Voith together with Stora Enso developed a tailor-made concept that maximises both efficiency and sustainability along the entire paper machine. The scope of supply includes a new, three-layer wire section with the DuoFormer D II. The high-performance Triple NipcoFlex shoe press concept will enable maximum production output at the highest quality level. The machine will also feature maximum flexibility and top product quality thanks to a SpeedSizer system and four DynaCoat AT coating units with JetFlow F applicators. Voith’s bulk-saving EcoCal HiBulk calender will provide excellent stiffness, outstanding smoothness and printability.
For ideal energy efficiency, Voith experts are also extensively rebuilding the existing dryer section. The CombiDuoRun drying concept efficiently dries the web on both sides, preventing curl even at high operating speeds. Finally, two VariFlex Performance winders will be installed. In addition, Stora Enso relies on Voith’s leading digitalization and automation expertise, with the OnControl.Machine MCS for the automation of the board machine, the OnQuality quality control system, and the OnCare.Health condition monitoring solution. The dataPARC cloud serves as the IIoT platform.
In other areas of the project, Valmet has confirmed it will deliver bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP), evaporation and non-condensable gas (NCG) technology as well as an extensive automation solutions package for the project.
“With Valmet’s process technology and automation, we enable Stora Enso to produce carton board with excellent environmental performance and optimized fiber properties,” says Sami Riekkola, Business Line President, Pulp and Energy, Valmet. “Our BCTMP technology is built on our strong ‘Fiber to Board’ knowledge. With the extensive automation package, we are able to offer Stora Enso a good visibility to the mill processes and excellent operability to maximise the performance of the whole mill.”
Valmet’s technology delivery includes a BCTMP line, an evaporation plant, and a NCG boiler for odorous gas handling. The evaporation plant is tailored for BCTMP filtrate recovery with high energy efficiency, and low electricity and steam consumption. It includes a Valmet Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) Evaporator and the mechanically reliable Tube Evaporation technology. The NCG boiler is designed for very low NOx emissions. The delivery is supported by Valmet Industrial Internet solutions including connectivity and process support with analytics tools. Valmet’s automation delivery includes a mill wide Valmet DNA distributed control system with the new web-based user interface as well as an integrated Valmet IQ Machine Vision system.
