Sappi Kirkniemi Mill Orders PM Rebuild from Valmet

  

Valmet, Finland, will supply a paper machine wet end rebuild for the Kirkniemi mill of Sappi Finland Operations Oy. Startup of the rebuilt machine is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016. The value of the order was not disclosed, but a project of this type and scope is typically valued at approximately EUR 10-15 million, according to Valmet.

"We have worked with Valmet for a long time, and the cooperation has been very good. Valmet is familiar with our paper machine and they know its potential. These are important factors when choosing a supplier. We wanted to have a reliable partner with good technical solutions," said Martti Savelainen, mill manager at Sappi.

"This new project is the third major rebuild for Sappi (Alfeld PM 2 and Gratkorn PM 11) in just a few years. Our personnel are very familiar with the Kirkniemi machine, and our knowhow on the process and technical solutions are optimal for printing grades. By combining our experience and expertise, we were able to come up with a solution that met the customer's targets well, and we are pleased that Sappi chose Valmet for this rebuild project," said Petri Paukkunen, VP, paper mills sales and marketing, Valmet.

 

Sappi is a global company focused on providing dissolving wood pulp, paper pulp, and paper-based solutions to its direct and indirect customer base across more than 100 countries. Sappi produces approximately 5.7 million metric tpy of paper, 2.4 million metric tpy of paper pulp, and 1.3 million metric tpy of dissolving wood pulp. 

Kirkniemi Mill has been a front runner in developing light-weight publication papers for demanding end-uses. Today, the mill's three paper machines produce coated papers for heat set web offset printing to customers around the world.