Andritz: At the Forefront of Innovation in Tissue

Andritz has reinforced its position as a leader of innovation in the tissue industry by appointing two new members to its global tissue and paper team. Klaus Blechinger joins as vice president, Tissue and Ernst Kerschhofer has been appointed vice president, tissue and paper service. Blechinger has been with Andritz for close to 20 years and was most recently head of the mechanical pulping division. Kerschhofer joins Andritz after 14 years’ experience with a major supplier of machine clothing and roll covers.

The high-level appointments go in line with other major developments at ANDRITZ in the tissue sector including the opening of the PrimeLineTIAC, a top-class innovation center inaugurated in Graz, Austria, in 2018, and most recently the acquisition of Italian specialist tissue drying technology supplier Novimpianti in June 2018.

An interview with Klaus Blechinger and Ernst Kerschhofer follows.

What is your impression of the tissue industry and in your opinion what does the future look like for tissue as an industry?
KB: The tissue industry is highly competitive and growing at the same time. Innovation is key in this industry, production costs and product features are in focus. In order to be able to take a lead in this dynamic industry, customers need to rely on strong suppliers, suppliers who are able to support their development efforts.

EK: A strong service is of utmost importance. The tissue industry will see a constant operating cost optimization and thus also a strong move to digitalization.

How do you rate the tissue industry in terms of innovation?
KB: I rate the tissue industry very highly in terms of innovation and this applies as such not to innovation for tissue products and production processes only. The tissue industry naturally triggers innovation in affiliated industry sectors, for example in the logistic sector. Thus, we must draw our attention in the future also to the whole life cycle of a tissue production line and to the entire production chain. Lifecycle Service, customer care, quick reaction support, reduction of logistic costs are all the focus of our tissue customers.
EK: As mentioned, the tissue industry is very innovative. Innovation is driven by the market – actually more definitively, by the consumers of the product. Tissue is a local product tailored to specific market demand, the focus on innovation is different in the different markets. In some markets the product features are the core focus, other markets are very cost driven. No matter what, production costs or in other words the efficient usage of valuable resources like fiber and energy are key for every successful tissue producer. As the traditional tissue production technology is pretty much optimized, tissue producers are always looking for new innovative production technologies.

On the subject of innovation, and now that the PrimeLineTIAC has been in operation for a few months, can you tell us about some of the work that Andritz is carrying out in R&D? Anything important to report?
KB: Our PrimeLineTIAC Tissue Innovation and Application Center has developed very successfully since its official launch in March 2018. The pilot plant is available to tissue producers and suppliers, research and development companies and universities but also for our own R&D activities. Within the last months, we carried out several internal R&D projects to further develop and improve Andritz products for tissue machines. For example, new products such as the latest shoe press technology, PrimePress XT Evo, have been developed and tested successfully under all conditions. Furthermore, existing products and technologies, for instance the Andritz Vertical CrescentFormer (VRT), have been optimized. The Vertical CrescentFormer produces conventional tissue grades with lower energy consumption and better sheet quality.

Can you tell us what results you are seeing with the R&D at TIAC?
KB: With the new technologies developed so far, the PrimePress XT Evo and the Andritz Vertical CrescentFormer (VRT), we can see a dryness gain of 3-7 percent at the Yankee versus conventional operation with suction presses. As well as a gain in bulk of about 5-18 percent being observed for those operations.

For textured tissue we are on a very successful path and have reached results beyond current comparable and operating technologies. We are now reaching caliper values of 280 to 350 microns for toilet and towel respectively and water absorbency capacity of 12 g per gramme of fiber for towel.

How are the customer trials going?
KB: Customer trials are going very well and so far we have received excellent feedback, for instance one client stated: “We are impressed with your pilot plant and the team running this excellent facility. This is a different world.” PrimeLineTIAC enables us to operate independently of third-party intellectual property and/or R&D facilities. These are very important advantages for our customers and also for ourselves, as they ensure that we can use Andritz technologies globally, without any restrictions. This is highly appreciated by the market and our customers. Thus, we have already had many international and renowned customers from the pulp and tissue industry as well as from research laboratories and universities at our pilot plant. They have conducted and are further interested in trials in the fields of fiber optimization for specific products, product quality improvement, increasing of dryness, reduction of energy consumption and many more. Furthermore, the first customers have conducted successful trials to improve TAD operations.

What are the main areas of products and grades being focussed on at TIAC?
KB: The pilot plant features various configurations for the production of conventional, textured, and structured (TAD) tissue for all kinds of tissue products for instance, facial, toilet, kitchen, napkin or towel. We currently have three possible new configurations for TAD tissue, which provides the highest quality for toilet and kitchen paper and we are working on our textured tissue technology that offers quality close to structured tissue but with lower energy consumption.

What raw materials can be used at TIAC?
KB: There are trials with all types of raw materials possible. We can use softwood, hardwood, recycled fibers, bagasse, bamboo, straw or liquid pulp. Customers can also bring their own raw materials for testing.

What results are being seen at TIAC with the introduction of digitalization or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) through Metris PrimeControl E?
KB: Digitalization will be of utmost importance in this industry. Metris PrimeControl E is the answer to this development and is the Andritz IIoT solution for tissue machines. PrimeControl E is supplied with every Andritz tissue machine. Initially, we installed it at PrimeLineTIAC to optimize and monitor R&D activities and trials, as well as to develop new, pioneering solutions for OPP (Optimization of Process Performance). In the TIAC it is used to monitor and control the different pilot machine configurations as well as stock preparation and includes alarm management, advanced reporting, drive systems, quality control systems, and remote support. There are also reports on energy and resource efficiency capabilities available to monitor and optimize consumption of energy and other resources.

In the field Metris PrimeControl E is used for immediate, fast and efficient customer support and increasing efficiency during start-ups and operation. We expect the first OPP contracts to be concluded with tissue producers later this year.

What new areas have you been working on at TIAC in terms of technology? What can tissue producers expect to see from Andritz in the near to medium-term future regarding new products/technological developments?
KB: Since the plant was started up, the pilot facility has been operating with conventional tissue grades. At the beginning of 2018, the PrimeLineTIAC pilot plant was reconfigured to operate in textured mode. Now, just a few months later, Andritz is able to present remarkable results in the field of textured tissue that clearly surpass the results of similar technologies on the market. Within the next few months, our internal R&D trials will concentrate on different configurations and developments for the production of textured and structured tissue, with the focus on reducing investment and operating costs.

Can you give us an overview of PrimeService and what Andritz offers tissue producers?
EK: PrimeService comprises a full range of service options. It starts with customer tailored solutions for spare parts supply but also includes repairs and upgrades as well as field service. We have comprehensive onsite as well as online support. An important element of PrimeService is the optimization and simulation support provided to our clients. Andritz PrimeService enables customers to run production lines continuously at the highest efficiency level.

Does Andritz provide a remote service for tissue producers when it comes to machine monitoring and/or service and maintenance?
EK: Andritz offers state of the art remote service support to tTissue producers, including monitoring, service and maintenance support. With the powerful functions of Metris in place, technological support, troubleshooting functionality as well as process improvement recommendations are also remotely available.

Anything new on the horizon when it comes to service for Andritz tissue producing customers?
EK: IIoT through Metris is giving service another dimension, we are at the beginning of a journey with many new ideas and opportunities on the way. This modern technology is essential for continuous process improvements supported by PrimeService and it is also key for selection and development of tailor made, process relevant, wear parts such as roll covers and machine clothing. Andritz is working on a project to extend the PrimeService product range accordingly.

Andritz has recently acquired Novimpianti, an Italian company with expertise in drying and energy systems for tissue machines, can you tell us what difference this will make to Andritz customers?
KB: Andritz Novimpianti is a global supplier of engineered equipment and services for air and energy systems to the paper industry’s leading manufacturers. For Andritz, this acquisition further strengthens its product offerings in the field of air and energy systems, mainly for tissue but also for paperboard machines and extends market coverage. For our customers – compared to now – this acquisition will provide an even more exhaustive support for their future development, as we will build up and drive innovation in this field out of this center of excellence, with focus on energy and operating cost reduction.

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