With this project, Mpact pursued two goals. Compared with the former winder, the new VariFlex has a 50% higher processing capacity, thus allowing the mill to handle a planned increase in production on PM 3 in the near future. In addition, the time from switching off the old winder until starting up the VariFlex was reduced to an absolute minimum. The combined efforts of the Voith and Mpact installation teams enabled startup of the winder two days earlier than the demanding 10-day planned schedule. The two goals were achieved.
The efficient installation and startup process was made possible by a special procedure. Even before the new winder was delivered, it was taken into operation at Voith in Krefeld, Germany, then packed into three oversize containers and shipped to South Africa. In Felixton, a crane lifted the winder into the mill, where it was installed in the course of 24-hour shifts.
"The new winder has removed the bottleneck in our process. We have already seen an 8% speed increase on the paper machine and are looking forward to the next machine upgrade, knowing we are not constrained at the front end," said Brian Smith, mill manager at Mpact Felixton.
Mpact is one of the largest producers of paper and plastics packaging in southern Africa. The company has 31 locations in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Felixton is situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east of the Republic of South Africa. On its PM 3 at Felixton, Mpact produces various grades of corrugated base paper in a basis weight range of 90–190 gsm.
TAPPI
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