Toscotec TT SteelDryer Sales Reach New Record in 2019

Toscotec pioneered the manufacture of steel dryer cans in the 1960s, at a time when cast iron dryers still held a dominant market position. After many years of struggle between the steel and cast iron theories, Toscotec’s concept is now winning and it is being selected for many dryer section rebuilds around the globe. Toscotec Paper & Board division head of sales Enrico Fazio explains how and why.

What makes Toscotec’s dryer section rebuild solutions stand out on the global market?

“Toscotec has been designing and manufacturing the dryer sections of paper machines since 1960. When the market, only relatively recently, recognized the advantages of the use of steel for the fabrication of dryer cans, Toscotec notably strengthened its leading position as the steel dryers supplier with the greatest experience in the paper industry. Higher energy cost accelerated this market change, causing the shutdown of many cast iron foundries. As a result, our competitors followed in our footsteps by switching to steel. In the last five years, we registered a significant sales rise that led to the manufacture of more than 100 TT SteelDryers per year. In 2019, we reached the record-breaking figure of more than 170 TT SteelDryers under construction in one single year. To this day, Toscotec has sold more than 1,500 TT SteelDryer across five continents since 1960. These are unmatched results at a global level.”

What are the advantages of steel vs cast iron?

“Back in the 1960s at Toscotec, it all started from the idea that just like other pressure vessel it was manufacturing (e.g., water boilers), the dryer cans used in the paper industry could be fabricated in steel as well. To a company that was using steel for other heat transfer applications, it was natural to apply this experience to paper machine dryer cans. The market did not welcome this innovation at first, the market being very conservative and because most people at the time believed that cast iron was the best material for papermaking applications. This myth was definitely debunked, especially recently.

“In term of advantages, first and foremost, steel dries paper more efficiently than cast iron. Its mechanical characteristics are superior to those of cast iron and the construction codes of steel pressure vessels allow the reduction of the shell thickness, thereby achieving higher efficiency on the heat transfer to the surface of TT SteelDryers and to the paper sheet. The heat transfer coefficient of a steel dryer can be 5 to 10 percent higher than cast iron.

“Secondly, for the same dimension, steel cylinders offer a higher drying width than cast iron. This is because the heads of TT SteelDryers are welded to the shell instead of being bolted into the shell as with cast iron dryers. This design allows the paper to get closer to the heads. As a result, given two cylinders of the same width, one in cast iron and the other in steel, the steel cylinder dries a wider paper sheet than cast iron.

“Thirdly, there is no construction restriction on the diameter of TT SteelDryers. We can engineer and manufacture any diameter, based on the specific requirement of the project.

“Finally, the fact that we do not use bolts and gaskets between the shell and the heads of the cylinder eliminates any risk of steam leakage, which is quite typical of cast iron dryers.”

How did the concept of TT SteelDryers develop over the years?

“Toscotec has been innovating its technology incredibly over the years. Much R&D work has also been devoted to single equipment, such as TT SteelDryers, and thanks to this, we have made great progress in optimizing our manufacturing process, quality control and engineering design. For instance, we introduced a new design, where the dryer’s journals are bolted into the heads. This goes into the direction of cutting maintenance cost, because if you have a problem on one of the journals, you can easily replace it without changing anything else.”

How has Toscotec P&B division been evolving in the last few years?

“Toscotec’s P&B division registered a significant growth in the last five years. We significantly increased our sales revenues over this period. We owe it to the fact that the market recognized us as the leading manufacturer of dryer sections. We also provide dryer section rebuilds on a turnkey basis, the last order we received from Smurfit Kappa Cellulose du Pin in France for a 6m wide machine is one such example.”

Which key markets are you targeting for P&B at present?

“Definitely Europe and Latin America, our traditional markets, as well as North America where we are already developing a number of projects with top paper groups. We are also working to grow in markets where we see high potential for our technology.”

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