Paper Mill Services Division

Profile

The Paper Mill Services Division encompasses the service activities for Mechanical Pulping Systems, Pulp Drying, and Fiber Preparation Systems, and provides engineered screen baskets and refiner plate products also for other Andritz divisions.

Primary emphasis is on traditional mill service (engineered wear products, spare parts, equipment rebuilds and upgrades) to secure reliable and effective operation of customers' production systems.  The two major wear products are refiner plates and screen baskets for any application, which are manufactured in Andritz’s own plants to proprietary designs for all types of refiners and screens.

The recent acquisition of Fiedler significantly improved the Division’s ability to supply all types of screen baskets and rotors required in pulp and paper mills.

Additionally, the Division offers innovative solutions for increasing the reliability, efficiency, and availability of machines - from single equipment up to complete production system optimization, OPE^® (Overall Production Efficiency).

Headquarters for the Paper Mill Services Division is Muncy, PA, USA.  The Division is managed through major geographic regions, each with at least one Andritz Service Center equipped to provide fast and responsive services to local customers.  Refiner plates are produced in Muncy.  The production of screen baskets is performed in North America and Europe, with the Center of Competence in Regensburg, Germany

Business Development

At the beginning of the year, the Division successfully introduced the LemaxX Spiral^® refiner plate to the world market.  To date, over 500 units have been sold for all major refiners (Andritz, Beloit, Bolton-Emerson, Voith, and Escher Wyss).  The significant features of the LemaxX Spiral^® plate are its energy savings, improved fiber development without significantly affecting pulp drainage, and long life.

Another development in the field of engineered wear parts is the new design of the disc filter sector, which fits all Andritz as well as other manufacturers’ machines via a fast coupling-uncoupling procedure to substantially reduce repair and maintenance downtime.  The Division expects this segment of the business to grow significantly as customers increasingly experience the cost savings.  The first installation will start up in spring 2004.

The improved business climate has generated interest in rebuilding operating, but outdated mechanical pulping equipment. The Division has capitalized on developments in automation and electric motor technology to improve the performance of several refiners and refiner systems built by Andritz and other manufacturers. Of special note are the successful rebuilds of Jylhä refiners, which took place at Zubilade S.A, Spain and Stora Enso Summa Mill, Sweden. These rebuild programs are very beneficial to mills since they do not require extensive downtime and modifications to existing layouts, yet they offer significant improvements in production and fiber properties.

Major Orders

• Stora Enso, Sachsen, Germany entrusted the Division with a modernization contract for a FibreFlow^® drum.

• Large modernizations of TMP lines were ordered by Boise Cascade, DeRidder, LA, USA; Norske Skog, Powell River, Canada; and Holmen Paper A.B. in Sweden. Disc filter rebuilds were performed for UPM-Kymmene, Austria, and Norske Skog, France.

• Innovations introduced to the market, not only for Andritz equipment but also for other manufacturers’ equipment, enabled the Division to secure several orders for rebuilding refiners in UPM-Kymmene mills (Rauma and Jämsenkoski), and several other mills around the world.

Other Important Orders

Customer, Country	Products/systems ordered
North America
Stora Enso Port Hawkesbury Ltd., Canada	Twin 66 refiner rebuild program; SB170 refiner rebuild program
Eurocan Pulp & Paper Co., Canada	HSD 64 refiner rebuild and rotor backing plate upgrade
Millar Western Pulp Ltd., Whitecourt, Canada	Screen room upgrade
Millar Western Pulp Ltd., Meadow Lake, Canada	Screen room upgrade
Northern Europe
Holmen Paper A.B. Braviken Mill,  Sweden	Twin 60 Refiner rebuild program
Bäckhammars Bruk AB, Sweden	Twin Flo refiner upgrade
JSC NEUSIEDLER Syktyvkar, Russia	Retrofit of prescreening line with Fiedler screen baskets
Central Europe
Norske Skog Golbey S.A., France	Disc filter upgrade program
UPM-Kymmene Austria GmbH, Austria	Disc filter upgrade
Papierfabrik Heinsberg, Germany	Complete rebuild of headbox screens with Fiedler screen baskets and rotors
Asia
Ningbo Zhonghua Paper Co. Ltd., China	Rebuild of 3-stage fine screening line
Dongguan Nine Dragon Industries Co., China	Complete engineered wear product contract for 5 paper machines
Paper Corea Inc.,                                 South Korea	Rebuild of 3-stage headbox screening line

papermillservices_importantorders.htm

Research and Development

About 3% of the Sales volume is invested annually to improve the Division’s products both in terms of their production efficiency and production capacity.  These improvements are especially required for engineered wear products (refiner plates, screen baskets, and screen rotors) where competition is strong and continuous improvements must be made to expand Andritz’s market share.

With the goal to achieve further production process improvements, several new techniques for system optimization were investigated.  One example is the disc filter upgrade package, which aims at increasing dewatering performance while improving mechanical reliability of both Andritz and other manufacturers’ equipment.