Top class service at the end of the world
Due to its perfect climate for fiber growth, Chile has become a major pulp and paper making nation over recent decades, with some of the world’s largest producers now situated in the South American country. ANDRITZ has also grown its base in Chile, and now offers complete equipment sales, project management, service, and maintenance support for its thriving pulp and paper mills.
Robert Clua, General Manager, ANDRITZ Chile and Peyman Behirad, General Director, ANDRITZ Concepción Workshop
© Behrendt & Rausch“We are a long way away from anywhere here,” says Peyman Behirad, General Director, ANDRITZ Concepción Workshop. “In fact we have a saying in Chile that, ‘we are at the end of the world’”.
The country may be a long way from Europe and North America, the common centers of technology for the industry, but because of its status as a major pulp and paper producing nation, ANDRITZ has also seen the need to invest, build, and grow here. Robert Clua, General Manager, ANDRITZ Chile says, “Over the years, the pulp and paper industry has become very important to this country; we have major producers here supplying the local market, but also exporting their products all over the world.”
Operating in Chile for decades, ANDRITZ has a number of offices and operations in the country and has recently moved to a new, larger, headquarters in Santiago, the country´s capital, with the purpose of maximizing synergies between work areas. Located in Las Condes area of the city, the headquarters is responsible for the administration of the company and coordination of the different divisions and locations. ANDRITZ Chile employs around 500 people and has a major service center in the city of Concepción as well as other project sites.
The complete service offering from Concepción includes rebuilds, support for field services and inspections, parts and consumables, shutdown and start-up services, and machining and grinding.
© Behrendt & RauschRIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
The ANDRITZ Chile Concepción site has been developed as a special service area for pulp and paper customers, and is situated right in the middle of the pulp producing region. Behirad says, “Most of the major pulp mills are around this area; we have at least five of them within just a short drive from our location in Concepción.
“We are also in an ideal location as we are close to sea ports for importing machinery and parts, and there is also an airport close by.”
The site has its own workshop with the complete scope of requirements for maintaining services for pulp producers, including engineered wear parts, local support for optimization, repair works, upgrades, and equipment fabrication. The site employs around 150 people, most of whom are highly experienced in pulp and paper service and maintenance, including engineers, project managers, and quality managers. “We started out in 2004 servicing mostly woodyard equipment at the pulp mills where we have a significant installed base, but we have grown rapidly, and we now offer services for the complete fiberline from the Concepción site,” says Behirad.
The workshop has the very latest in engineering technology, including CNC machines, milling, grinding, and welding.
© Behrendt & Rausch
