VOL 17 ISSUE 14 July/August 2009

● High pump efficiencies lead to energy savings● How to add value to tissue manufacturing● Review of the global pulp & paper industry

20 July/August 2009

ABB PAPER MAKING & DISTRIBUTION

Sweden’s Holmen Paper Hallsta, partof Holmen Paper AB, has secured itsoperations by upgrading its quality-

control system, Network Platform QCSfrom ABB, to the very latest proving frametechnique, instead of buying newequipment.

The upgrading with new functions willresult in less downtime and waste. Withupgrading, the existing proving frame willlast at least to 2019, while achieving bothenvironmental and cost savings at the mill,which annually produces 700,000 tonnesof paper a year.

“Historically the focus used to be on theamount of produced paper. Today, qualityis our customers’ main focus. Mostimportant to us is therefore to haveequipment supporting high quality andensuring consistency,” said HanneleArvonen, site manager at Holmen Paper Hallsta.

Hallsta first installed ABB’s QCSplatform to its PM12 machine in 1988and the existing proving frame has been upgraded twice, in 2001 to SmartPlatform and now, in 2009, to Network Platform.

Holmen Paper Hallsta holds a strongposition as a special paper mill within thewood bearing printing paper industry. Themill manufactures so-called improvednewsprint paper for enclosures, magazines

and advertising brochures as well as SC,stock and ledger paper.

Hallsta was the largest paper mill inEurope at its start-up in 1915 and remainedone of the world’s largest mills during the20th century.

In recent years, Holmen Paper Hallstahas made a transition from massproduction of standard paper qualities to avariety of special paper grades. Now, themill has decided to upgrade its existingquality control system to include the verylatest technology, Network Platform QCS,instead of buying totally new equipment.With this upgrading, the existing provingframe can be used for at least another tenyears, and by avoiding manufacturing ofentirely new equipment, both environmentaland cost savings are made.

ABB claims that QCS has 99.5 percentavailability. A stoppage in a paper machinecan cost up to 200,000 kronor per hour.

“For Hallsta, the upgrading of the QCS

TORE SJÖBERG, PROJECT MANAGER AT HOLMENPAPER HALLSTA, AND HÅKAN ÖSTERHOLM,PRODUCT MANAGER AT ABB SWEDEN

HANNELE ARVONEN AND PROJECT TEAM WHO RAN THE UPGRADING PROJECT AT HALLSTA

Made to measure

Measuring technology

from ABB strengthens

the paper industry in

times of recession.

PMD reports

ABBPAPER MAKING & DISTRIBUTION

means availability to the latestmeasuring technology andfunctions at a lower cost than ifwe would have replaced theentire CQS system. Investmentswith low life-cycle costs are vitalfor us to keep our competitiveedge on increasingly toughmarkets,” said Tore Sjöberg,project manager at HolmenPaper Hallsta.

Hallsta and ABBdevelop a solutiontogetherABB and Hallsta have togetherdeveloped several newfunctions in the QCS. Hallstahas contributed with innovativesolutions for the wet-end colourcontrol on the PM12 papermachine. ABB has integratedthe function in the existing QCSand, with Hallsta’s help, furtherdeveloped a calibrationfunction for improvedcorrelation with labmeasurements.

“It has been a rewardingcollaboration that has broughtHolmen Paper Hallsta tangiblecontrol benefits and given usthe opportunity to developproducts that really meet theneeds of our customers,” said

Håkan Österholm, productmanager at ABB Sweden.

Pioneering optical measuring technologyThe upgrading of the provingframe means you can benefit fromtoday’s rapid technologydevelopment within the field ofmeasuring and control systems,says ABB. New sensor technologycan be used from ABB, such as arevolutionary new technique foroptical thickness measuring, whichcan measure and control thicknesswith high precision even for verydemanding paper qualities.

Traditionally, dual-sidedcontacting caliper sensors orlaser based sensors are used formeasuring the paper, whichmeans that thin and fine paperqualities are exposed to damagerisk, and hence productionstoppage. Unintentionaldowntime in paper mills couldcost as much as 200,000 kronorper hour which is why a reliableoperation is of vital importance.

More information from ABBProcess Automation, HåkanÖsterberg, Product Manager,Sweden. Tel: 46 08 6588152.Mobile: 07062 98152. Email:Hakan.r.osterholm@se.abb.com

High Perfomance CONTROL- and ON/OFF Valves

SOMAS - if RELIABILITY matters!

www.somas.se

“It is important to usto have equipmentsupporting highquality and ensuringconsistency,” saidHannele Arvonen,site manager atHolmen Paper Hallsta