When upgrading its PM 2, Koehler Kehl, Germany, opted for products from Voith's advancedPRODUCTS range that enable the company to reduce the machine's water consumption, achieve a faster starting curve, and at the same time improve paper quality. 

One of Koehler’s major strengths is its willingness to constantly improve. This is why, for the upgrade of the press section on the PM 2, the focus was on achieving more stable operation, reliable planning of shutdowns and improved safety in the production process. On the PM 2, the company produces just short of 130,000 metric tons of thermal paper per year, with basis weights of between 35 and 47 gsm.

In the course of various improvement measures, Voith fitted the press section with products from the PressMax range of its AdvancedPRODUCTS. The prime objective was to continually improve the quality of the paper grades and reduce its operational costs.

 

 

In the photo above are Wiebke Petzold (left),Voith product manager, and Joachim Fuchs, production manager PM 2 / CM 2 at Koehler Kehl Germany, at PM 2 in Kehl.

The latter was especially achieved by use of the QualiFlex press sleeves for the shoe press. Refinements were made to the sleeves and their abrasion behavior was improved. On PM 2, this led to a doubled runtime. This reduced the maintenance work for replacing the shoe press covers. Previously, the press sleeves had needed to be changed after 180 days on average.

An increase in productivity was also the reason for introducing press felts with PeakElement which allows a faster start and better nip dewatering than standard felts. As a result, the startup curve of the machine could be shortened considerably following the felt change.

"With the installation of the Voith products, we were able to clearly improve the startup curve after felt change on PM 2. The machine can be brought to its maximum speed faster and with fewer problems, resulting in greater availability and lower operating costs," stated Joachim Fuchs, production manager PM 2 / CM 2 at Koehler Kehl Germany.

In addition, the measurements taken by the FeltView system delivered important moisture and permeability data for targeted conditioning of the pickup felts. Koehler can use this data to continually optimize machine settings and improve efficiency. Critical felt conditions can be identified before they impair the process and the felts are run in optimum operating condition. FeltView also makes manual measurements redundant, which ultimately improves the safety of the production process.