A Metso-supplied ValZone metal belt calender was started up on the PM 23 fine paper machine of Yanzhou Huamao Paper Industry Co. Ltd., member of Sun Paper Group, in Yanzhou city, Shandong Province, China at the end of April. Earlier the line was operated with a soft calender. The Metso-supplied paper machine has a wire width of 7.85 m and a design speed of 1,600 m/min, and it produces approximately 350,000 tonnes of uncoated fine papers annually.
With the metal belt calender, the line is able to produce top quality printing paper grades with superior feel and visual appearance. The ValZone metal belt calender allows raw material optimization, for instance by allowing an increase in the filler content of the sheet. Also, as a result of increased bulk, the same printing qualities can be reached with a lower grammage.
The delivery is a repeat order of the ValZone technology as Sun Paper Group’s coated board line PM 22 also is equipped with metal belt calendering. The ValZone metal belt calender of PM 23 is the first installation for fine paper grades.
“This start-up is a milestone that brings the metal belt calendering technology into a whole new area of application. It is now for the first time used for printing papers and for the first time in a wide and fast paper machine thus demonstrating that the metal belt calendering technology has a lot of potential with regard to future development,” says Timo Valkama, Senior Paper Technology Manager, Metso’s Paper business line.
Yanzhou Huamao Paper Industry Co. Ltd. belongs to Sun Paper Group, which is one of the foremost paper and board producers in China. Altogether the group runs 22 paper machines mostly producing printing and writing grades with a combined capacity well exceeding 2,200,000 t/y. Sun Paper Group employs more than 7,000 persons.