Displaying items by tag: sappi

Performance-based maintenance agreement will ensure increased mill equipment reliability and energy efficiency

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has been awarded a five-year Maintenance Improvement Agreement by Sappi to manage and improve all maintenance activities at their Nijmegen fine paper mill in the Netherlands.

Under the performance-based agreement, ABB will manage all maintenance operations to improve overall productivity and equipment reliability at the mill, and retain and further develop all existing maintenance staff and management. ABB will also help the mill to reduce its energy consumption while achieving these production efficiencies.

“This Maintenance Improvement Agreement highlights ABB’s capabilities in providing comprehensive service solutions for the industrial sector. Our innovative approach to performance-based services ensures improved production and equipment performance, energy efficiency and reliability for the entire facility,”said Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. 

Sappi’s Nijmegen mill is a producer of coated fine paper located in the middle of its core market. At the Nijmegen Mill, Sappi aims to generate the economic returns necessary to maintain a sustainable business while they minimize their impact on the environment, encourage the development of people and contribute to the communities in which they operate.

“We are confident that together with ABB we will achieve an improvement in paper machine performance reliability and efficiency that, in turn, enables us to better and predictably serve our customers with great product. Equally important, we aim to provide a work environment that allows growth and achievement for our people.” says Wayne Thomas, Mill Director at Sappi Nijmegen.

Under the agreement, ABB also will focus on process optimization and equipment lifecycle management at the site, as well as manage all maintenance related third-party subcontractors and suppliers. 

With more than 100 Full Service® agreements with customers in Pulp & Paper, Mining, Metals, Chemicals and other industries globally, ABB best practices and expertise improves the performance, reliability and energy efficiency of production assets, increasing plant efficiency and optimizing total maintenance cost while reducing environmental impact.

Sappi Nijmegen, PM 7 in Netherlands has ordered press and dryer section modification by EV Group

The project includes stabilizing technology, tail threading equipment and machine geometry updates for the press section.

In the single felted section, the 1st and the 2nd dryer will be optimized with EV EasyOne high release web stabilizers and with new air systems, felt rolls and stretchers. In EV EasyOne concept, three high release web stabilizers will be installed above the existing dryers, which will be drilled for vacuum rolls on site.

The drying section optimization also includes EVdf Web Stabilizers and air equipment for the 3rd dryer group.

Metso will supply a new fiberline for chemical cellulose for Sappi’s Ngodwana mill in South Africa. Start-up is scheduled for the first half of 2013. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

Metso’s delivery will include the design and supply of the main equipment for the new fiberline, from cooking to bleaching. The batch cooking plant is to be designed according to the prehydrolysis process and TwinRoll wash presses will be used in all washing positions.

The equipment to be supplied, together with Metso’s experience and know-how of this type of special pulp, will enable Sappi to produce high-quality chemical cellulose pulp for the growing market.

The new fiberline will produce around 215,000 air dried tonnes chemical cellulose hardwood pulp per year. In addition to the cooking plant and fiberline which will be new, Metso will also supply equipment for the upgrade of wood handling, evaporation and recausticizing as well as a new ash leaching system.

The main part of the order is included in Paper and Fiber Technology’s third quarter 2011 orders received and the evaporation and ash leaching equipment delivery in Energy and Environmental Technology’s third quarter 2011 orders received.

Sappi is today the world’s largest producer of chemical cellulose with a production capacity of approx. 815,000 air dried tonnes per year from the Saiccor mill. The Ngodwana mill located in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa will convert all of its market pulp production to chemical cellulose.

Sappi Southern Africa has today announced it will shut down its Adamas paper mill in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The permanent closure of the mill is expected to be finalised at the end of August. This brings to a conclusion the process announced on 24 May 2011 to investigate the continued operation of the mill.

Sappi Southern Africa has concluded an agreement with its Adamas mill employee representatives and redundancy notices have been issued to staff which specifies redundancy terms and includes provisions for outplacement and training support for all employees, to ensure that people have the best possible opportunity to secure new employment. The Adamas mill employed 213 people.

The mill has operated in Port Elizabeth for 47 years. Alex Thiel, CEO of Sappi Southern Africa commented: "As I mentioned when we began the consultation process, we fully recognise and commend the enormous efforts that employees and mill management have put in to try to make the mill competitive and to find a way to create a future for the mill. Unfortunately these efforts have been unsuccessful. We recognize this is a difficult decision affecting our employees, their families and the local communities and we would like to thank all of them for their hard work and support. Unfortunately this action became necessary to address the severe cost pressure that we are facing and the uncompetitive nature of this old and small mill.”

The volumes produced at the mill have been transferred to Sappi Enstra and Sappi Tugela mills.

We expect to take a charge of approximately US$5 million in respect of these closure costs in the fourth financial quarter ended September 2011.

Sappi will maintain its presence in the Eastern Cape as regards marketing and sales as well as the collection and purchase of collected fibre (used for recycled paper) through Sappi ReFibre.

Forestry investment

Furthermore Sappi, in partnership with AsgiSA-EC have developed a joint proposal with a strategic goal of accelerating the establishment and management of 30,000ha of commercial tree plantations by 2020 in the Eastern Cape. It is anticipated that these partnerships will be developed between Sappi and communities that hold land rights, with Sappi being the “implementation partner” as a provider of technical, managerial and administrative support to the community businesses. This development is expected to create 1,400 direct and permanent unskilled jobs and a further 125 jobs for skilled workers. Using industry trends, it is expected that some four to five indirect jobs would be created for each direct job, meaning a further almost 8,000 jobs. In rolling out the project, Sappi and AsgiSA-EC have already developed close to 150ha in conjunction with the Mkambathi and Sinawo communities.

Sappi Fine Paper North America announced that Melching, Inc. has purchased the Muskegon Mill site, a former pulp mill, paper mill, and converting facility in Muskegon, Michigan. Sappi permanently ceased operations at the site in August 2009 due to industry and economic conditions. Melching is currently reviewing plans to redevelop the site for a variety of industrial uses.

"Sappi Fine Paper North America selected Melching, Inc. as the buyer based on its expertise and successful track record in addressing industrial sites, strong long term relationships in the local area and robust redevelopment plans," said Anne Ayer, Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Information Officer

Melching, Inc. is a demolition, dismantling, and industrial remediation services company located in Nunica, Michigan. Sanabe & Associates, LLC, acted as financial advisor to Sappi for the transaction.

Target for the investment is to further enhance end product quality and increase raw material savings which, among other benefits, will also have a positive environmental impact.

Metso will supply four modern Metso IQ systems to replace four aging quality control systems in three separate Sappi mills in Europe. The delivery includes a total of twelve scanners for three paper machines in Stockstadt and Maastricht as well as one coater in Alfeld, the latter also including four Metso IQ Coating Profilers.

The replacements are planned for August, September and December 2011.

Sappi Fine Paper Europe is the leading producer of coated fine paper in Europe with an annual capacity of approximately 4 million tons of coated and uncoated paper brands.