The Metso-supplied containerboard production line, PM 3, for Ji’An Group Co., Ltd. successfully came on stream at the end of November 2011 and the line’s curtain coating process was started up on January 4, 2012. The new PM 3 was installed at the company’s mill located in Haiyan County, Jiaxing City in Zhejian Province, China. The 7.25 m-wide PM 3 is the world’s fastest coated board machine at the design speed of 1,200 m/min.
Metso’s delivery comprised a complete containerboard line from headboxes to reel including a 3-ply multi-Fourdrinier forming section with a ValFormer top forming unit. The delivery also included a ValPress press section equipped with two straight nips, a dryer section with single- and double-fabric dryer groups, an OptiHard precalender, a ValSizer film size press, coating sections with two ValCoat Jet blade coating stations and an OptiLayer curtain coating station, a ValSoft soft calender as well as a new type of a ValReel reel. The comprehensive Metso automation system comprises process, machine and quality controls with headbox and moisturizer profilers and retention analyzers.
“The new PM 3 features an OptiLayer multilayer curtain coating unit that applies two coating layers on the web at the same time in a non-contact operation with no speed restrictions. Curtain coating is a coating method, which gives a full coverage for brown base sheet. The uniform-coverage coating layer makes it possible to run the machine without expensive bleached fiber in furnish. This is a totally new tool for optimizing raw material costs,” says Henri Vaittinen, Metso’s Paper Technology Manager.
The daily production capacity of the PM 3 is approximately 1,900 tonnes of coated and uncoated white top testliner in the basis weight range of 130-280 g/m2, mainly without virgin fiber.
Ji'An Group Co., Ltd. currently produces containerboard on four machines of which three are Metso-supplied machines, in addition to the PM 3, on the PM 1 started up in 2008 and on the PM 2 started up in 2006. The company’s annual production capacity is around 1,650,000 tonnes.