In 2008, Sappi Fine Paper Europe installed a Voith (Germany) ceramic coating TerraSpeed on its PM 6 in Ehingen, Germany. On the top roll of the fourth press, TerraSpeed has now been in use for five-plus years, and the mill is reporting very positive feedback: TerraSpeed, the mill says, shows excellent properties in terms of roughness and sheet release and allows low tension settings. All of these parameters have not changed since the startup in November 2008, and roll grinding has not been necessary so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously, rolls with thermal coatings had to be removed and ground after 15 - 18 months of operation. Due to the extremely long service life and continuous performance of TerraSpeed, the operating costs have been decreased considerably for Sappi Ehingen. The costs for roll removal and grinding have been saved three times so far. At the same time, the TerraSpeed upgrading costs are not higher than those of previous coatings, Voith and the mill report.

Sappi Fine Paper Europe is a producer of high-quality fine papers in Europe. The Sappi mill in Ehingen is situated in the South of Germany and includes both a pulp and paper mill. The PM 6 in Ehingen produces 260,000 metric tpy of coated woodfree papers in a basis weight range of 70–200 gsm.