10%
increased capacity
It must be good. It must be brilliant!
Following the latest in a line of investments, Iggesund Paperboard’s mill in Workington, UK recently restarted its board machine after ANDRITZ rebuilt the press section – increasing capacity 10% and reducing energy consumption by almost 10%.
10%
reduced energy consumption
(l to r): Ulf Löfgren, Mill Manager, Iggesund Workington Mill; Barbara Freyler, ANDRITZ Director of Order Execution; Roland Scheiflinger, ANDRITZ Vice President Paper and Board, and Gary Pickering, Head of Workington's Project Department.
Europe’s folding boxboard market is in transition. “The supply/demand situation has changed since we decided to rebuild the press section of BM2,” admits Ulf Löfgren, Mill Manager at Workington. “But the investment is still quite valid. We wanted increased volume and reduced energy consumption, with consistent quality since our focus is on the premium segment of the market.”
Sweden's Holmen Group, parent of Iggesund Paperboard, has been investing in Workington’s future for years. As Löfgren says, “We are in a good place, but you must always improve. It must be good. It must be brilliant!”
Tonnes of quality
ANDRITZ sent a team of experts to assess different options on BM2. ANDRITZ’s Roland Scheiflinger, Vice President Paper and Board, believes this analysis convinced the Iggesund team that there would be little point in increasing capacity elsewhere if the press section remained a bottleneck.
“It is extremely important to get tonnes onto the market,” Löfgren says. “That is of great value to us.” ANDRITZ and Iggesund Workington spent time discussing the best configuration for the press section: two shoe presses vs. the combination of a long-nip press (LNP) with a shoe press. Gary Pickering, Head of Workington’s Project Department and Project Manager for the rebuild, says, “At first, we were only considering the pick-up roll, but the scope expanded. In the end, we replaced everything and opted for the combination LNP and shoe press.”
“Our decision to award the order to ANDRITZ was based on the work they did in the pre-decision phase,” Löfgren says. “They worked closely with us in an atmosphere of cooperation and partnership. We have a lot of confidence, trust, and belief in ANDRITZ. It has been a successful project.”
“The project went very well. We met all of our major milestones. A lot of praise and credit goes to the ANDRITZ team.”
ULF LÖFGREN
Mill Manager, Iggesund Paperboard, Workington mill
Pressing matters
ANDRITZ installed a complete new press section including a long-nip jumbo press with large-diameter rolls, an energy-efficient PrimePress X shoe press in the second nip, and a smoothing press. The delivery also included ANDRITZ’s state-of-the-art PrimeFeeder vacuum system for ropeless tail threading from the press section to dryer section.
“In addition to the press hardware,” says Barbara Freyler, ANDRITZ Director of Order Execution, “we supplied new drives for the wire and press section, the motor control center, multi-motor integration with BM2’s existing drive system, an ANDRITZ FibreSolve broke repulper under the machine, all the power and data cabling, field instrumentation, and electrification.”
The ANDRITZ PrimePress X shoe press is a very low-maintenance design that gives the Iggesund Workington mill the required bulk and dryness for its premium board products.
Workington working
Löfgren says, “The project went very well. We met all of our major milestones. A lot of praise and credit goes to the ANDRITZ team – they were excellent. The machine achieved the target quality and produced saleable board quickly after startup.”
Pickering adds, “There was a sheet on the reel in well under a half day. It was a big achievement for all of us because it was a tough timescale. We have gained speed on all grades, including the higher grammages where we did not think we would. With the new vacuum system design, we can run with one spare pump. It is working even better than we expected.”
"We have gained speed on all grades, including the higher grammages where we did not think we would.”
GARY PICKERING
Head of Project Department;
Iggesund Paperboard, Workington mill
