After a comprehensive rebuild supplied by Valmet the rebuilt paper machine PM6 at VPK Paper's Oudegem mill in Belgium has been successfully started.
The rebuild in the forming, drying and reeling sections will lift up PM6's production capacity from approximately 185,000 t/a to some 200,000 t/a of high quality packaging grades.
The rebuild was executed in spring 2016 with 148 workers on site during 11 days. Safety is top priority in Valmet's projects, and the rebuild was carried out with no accidents.
"The rebuild project went very well. The whole PM6 crew and Valmet experts worked towards the same target: safe and on-time start-up," says Jaakko Kerttula, Project Manager at Valmet.
Technical details of the delivery
The target of this rebuild was to improve machine speed, safety and efficiency. Valmet delivery for the forming section included among others mist eliminators, vacuum foil boxes and top wire lengthening with additional drive. For the drying section, Valmet delivered UnoRun S runnability boxes, new lead rolls and mechanical drive modification and, additionally, FoilForce tail threading after the dryer section. Also, a complete oil lubrication center including piping, tail threading equipment for the reel area, three sets of forming fabrics and spare parts were part of the delivery.
In spring 2015, Valmet had successfully installed a new Quality Control System (QCS) which has proved excellent performance. "We have achieved high availability and remarkably increased production with automatic grade change, improved process monitoring, and faster paper specifications after web break. Working together with Valmet in these two projects has truly moved our performance forward," states Alexis Zenner, Business Unit Manager at the Oudegem Mill.
