FOCUS:

Abitibi-Consolidated's Beaupré, Que., mill uses bulk and opacity of mechanical pulp to produce a lightly coated sheet targeting the uncoated free-sheet market

By HAROLD M. CODY, Senior Editor

Innovative Lightly-Coated Sheet Opens New Markets for Abitibi

HAROLD M. CODY
is Senior Editor,
Pulp & Paper

A VISITOR'S FIRST IMPRESSION when entering the machine room at the Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. (ACI) mill in Beaupré, Que., is one of stepping back into time. The mill's two machines are set up in the configuration typical of newsprint mills built in the 1920s and 30s. The calender stack on the No. 1 paper machine confirms the mill's age with the year of installation--1927--still prominent in large cast iron letters.

But that's where the similarity to mills from the past ends. While the side-by-side machine layout seems reminiscent of an older mill, the stark brightness of the sheets coming off both machines is a quick reminder that this isn't a newsprint mill. In fact, the two machines are producing grades unique to the industry and are the culmination of several years of product development, capital investment, and marketing. The story of their development illustrates how papermaking technology can be employed to develop a unique and new product that can give life to an older mill.

Company and mill personnel recognized long ago that the mill couldn't compete long term as a newsprint facility. To survive, it had to evolve away from standard newsprint into value-added paper production. Many mills, including several ACI facilities, have faced this problem. However, at Beaupré, the sheet wasn't simply upgraded incrementally to a better uncoated groundwood sheet, as many other mills have done. Instead, a new approach was developed to target a different market.

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. The Beaupré mill has a long history of product innovation and has become a focal point for corporate new product development within ACI.

"We have a mandate to develop new products," explains mill manager Michel Maille. "In 1989, we were the first North American mill to make an 80-brightness groundwood sheet. In the mid-1990s, we developed an 80-brightness sheet targeted at the uncoated free-sheet market. This marked our initial entry into that market, and we gained significant knowledge. Based on this, a new sheet was developed that had an 83 brightness and improved linting. It was another step in quality."

Work done at the mill in the mid-to-late 1980s set the stage for a series of product development initiatives in the 1990s. A major step was taken with a C$87 million upgrade during the 1982 to 1984 period to add a thermomechanical pulp (TMP) mill and convert production from newsprint to groundwood specialties. Three Sprout-Waldron refining lines produce 555 mtpd of TMP using a two-stage hydrogen peroxide/hydrosulfite bleach plant to produce an 80-brightness pulp. Chips for the mill are supplied from ACI and other sawmills and consist of 100% balsam. The pulp mill had previously been run as a chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP) operation. However, the use of chemicals was eliminated due to its high cost, since it was determined that pulp quality would be acceptable. Also, the screening system had to be modified when chemical addition was removed.

Initially, a variety of 65- to 70- brightness groundwood specialty grades was manufactured at the mill. In 1989, the next step in the evolution of grades made at the mill occurred when it became the first facility to produce an 80-brightness groundwood specialty sheet. By the 1990s, the mill was looking to move into new areas.

The grade initially developed was targeted at the large uncoated free-sheet market and sold under the Alternative Offset (AO) brand. It has an 80 brightness, 5% ash, and was introduced in 1992.

"By the late 1990s, both machines at the mill were producing a total of 180,000 mtpy of AO," says Nam Nguyen Kim, logistics and customer service manager. "AO opened up new markets for us. We learned a lot and the market accepted a groundwood sheet. But, to use AO, some pressroom changes are required, and some pressrooms simply won't change. So, we looked to see how we could improve the sheet to go deeper into the market."

The ability of these grades to compete with a free-sheet paper centers on the use of 100% groundwood fiber. Groundwood pulp provides several key advantages when compared to a traditional uncoated free-sheet paper made using kraft pulp. First, it provides better bulk, and the use of TMP provides higher yield per ton of wood. The bulk allows a lower weight grade to be used (Table 1), which provides the printer a yield advantage. A 35 lb/3,300 ft² sheet provides more paper surface area per ton than a 50-lb sheet, so the cost to the printer is lower because it's sold on a per ton basis.

TABLE 1. The Beaupre mill's mechanical pulp-based sheets can be used

SHIFT TO FILM COATED GRADES. Though innovative in its own right, AO also had limitations imposed by papermaking and pulping technology. One key limitation is that, in some applications, its appeal to printers is limited, because, as an uncoated groundwood sheet, AO lacks the surface strength or pick resistance of an uncoated free-sheet paper. This means that some pressrooms simply won't run it because it may be necessary to either use a different ink or to change press operating parameters, such as sheet tension.

To overcome these issues, ACI staff looked for a means of improving the surface. "If we could improve brightness and linting, we would have other opportunities and could increase the portion of the market where we could compete," observes Maille.

One option the mill examined was to improve the sheet surface strength by applying a coating. As Nam Nguyen Kim explains, "We visited a lot of mills in Europe to see other products made using a metering size press." However, none of the mills ACI visited were using 100% TMP.

"The challenge was that no one was using this equipment to do what we envisioned, so we had to determine if it could be done," says Maille. "We produced a sheet on pilot equipment and then had our customers run it. The next question was whether the equipment would work on a full-scale paper machine. It did, and we've set productivity records one year after startup."

Market research also showed that an opportunity to expand in the uncoated free-sheet market existed based on market growth. According to market projections available at that time, North American demand for several printing paper grades was projected to increase during the 2000 to 2004 period. Demand for grades such as coated paper and uncoated groundwood were expected to increase modestly in that period. However, demand for uncoated free-sheet was projected to increase much more than other grades, expanding by 1.5 million tons. By comparison, during the same period, demand for other printing grades would rise from 400,000 tons to 500,000 tons, and newsprint demand would contract. Another aspect of the strategy is that there are more players in smaller markets, such as coated papers or groundwood grades. In uncoated free-sheet, many of the biggest players are focused on cut-size grades, thus demonstrating that an opportunity existed in offset rolls.

Based on this successful trial, management approved a C$50 million investment, completed last year, to convert the No. 1 paper machine to produce a new grade of lightly coated paper. It is marketed under the Equal Offset (EO) brand. The No. 1 paper machine has a 223-in. trim, runs at up to 2,500 fpm, and has an annual capacity of 110,000 mtpy. The forming section has a twin wire former and remains unchanged.

The centerpiece of the upgrade is a new IHI transfer roll coater that simultaneously applies a lightweight coating to both sides of the sheet. The existing Measurex scanner was relocated from the dry end to just before the coater, and a new scanner was added at the dry end. Coat weight is measured and controlled using the difference between the two scanner readings. A new 60-mtpd Valmet Raisio coating kitchen was installed to supply coating color and can blend up to 20 ingredients. It is oversized to handle additional output if needed.

In order to add the coater, 11 dryer cans had to be removed, which reduced drying capacity. In order to sustain an operating speed of 2,500 fpm with the decrease in drying capacity, a new Voith Nipco shoe press was installed. Since the machine previously operated at 2,250 fpm, the additional tonnage from running 250 fpm faster was part of the justification for recent upgrades. The Beaupré mill’s No. 2 paper machine also has a 223-in. trim, speed of 2,450-fpm, and produces 90,000 mtpy of AO.

Modifications to the winder were made to improve operation by installing a shaftless system and adding a Dienes automatic slitter positioning system. GL&V provided engineering for the overall project under the supervision of AMCE (formerly H.A. Simons).

As part of the shift to EO, the chemistry on the No. 1 paper machine was switched to neutral papermaking. The EO sheet is produced using ground calcium carbonate in the coating. The EO base sheet is essentially an AO grade, since simply coating a 35-lb AO grade makes a 42.5-lb EO grade. The lightly coated grade—or “surface enhanced,” as it is also described—is used for heat set and cold set offset printing. The same grade runs on both types of printing press. Major end uses for the grade are books, catalogs, inserts, and direct mailings. The most popular weight is 42.5 lb.

One aspect of serving this market is that many orders are small and the customer base is large. This is much different than what a newsprint mill is used to serving and is an issue for almost any mill, depending on its equipment.

“Serving a lot of small customers is one of the most unique aspects of our customer base,” says Nam Nguyen Kim. “We have 5,600 orders per year from 300 customers in 800 destinations. Therefore, we do a lot of grade changes. About 90% of output is shipped by truck and in roll form. About 85% to 90% of shipments are to U.S. customers and 5% to Canada. The remainder goes overseas, mainly to South America. Roll size varies a lot as well.”

Making coated paper, and even a high brightness grade such as AO, is much different than making newsprint or low-end groundwood specialty. However, the mill staff has many years of experience developing and producing new products. Despite the fact that the mill had no experience in coating, no new employees were brought in for the new grade.

“More than 11,000 hours of training were given to the employees—we had to invest in our people,” Maille explains. “Manpower costs are key to being competitive.”

The mill has 420 employees, including 46 salaried staff. The mill has lowered the cost per ton of production from 4.3 man-hour/ton to 3.5 man-hour/ton.

DOMINO EFFECTS. The focus on product development at the Beaupré mill has corporate-wide implications, with far reaching impact on mills throughout the ACI system (Figure 1). Coupled with work completed and underway at other facilities in North America, these developments are allowing the company to shift production to assets best suited for particular grades. Innovations developed and put into commercial production at the mill are being shared with other ACI mills. The strategy is allowing standard newsprint capacity to be reduced at smaller, high cost mills while shifting value-added paper production to mills better suited to smaller runs and with other advantages, such as high quality fiber. The net result is an improvement in ACI’s bottom line, a net decrease in newsprint production, and an increase in value-added grades.

With the development of AO, and later EO, at Beaupré, it became possible to shift production to other mills in order to upgrade production from other groundwood specialties or newsprint. For example, in the 1995 to 2000 period, high brightness groundwood specialty production was shifted from Beaupré to the Fort William mill in Thunder Bay, Ont., allowing newsprint production to be phased out. Plans are to transfer about 70,000 mtpy of AO to the Fort Frances, Ont., mill that had been made on Beaupré’s No. 1 paper machine prior to its conversion. About 45,000 mtpy of 72- to 78-brightness groundwood specialty production had been transferred to Fort Frances from Beaupré following introduction of AO at Beaupré. With the startup of the new paper machine for supercalendered grades at Lufkin, Tex., production of some grades can be transferred there from other mills, opening further new product development opportunities.

CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE. Most printers that serve the web offset market are accustomed to either printing on coated paper or uncoated free-sheet grades. The challenge when bringing a new product to the market is first, getting customers and printers to try it, and, second, making sure it works. The development of AO was successful, but at the same time it showed the limits of even a very high brightness uncoated mechanical sheet.

The major issue in the offset market is that the inks used are tacky, and, therefore, the printing process picks the sheet or produces lint. This can be overcome by switching press operation to use less tacky inks.

However, the linting issue also provided the mill with an opportunity. The result of an investigation into how to reduce linting was the development of a lightly coated sheet that would provide higher brightness as well as improved resistance to linting.

One large U.S. printer that declined to be identified uses EO and has had excellent experience using it for educational workbooks and similar products. “The cost savings are a minimum of 15% due to the yield advantage of using a 42.5-lb grade compared to a 50-lb uncoated free-sheet web offset,” notes the printer’s vice president of purchasing. “We haven’t had to adjust our presses and the sheet runs well. I use it for products that don’t have an extended shelf life, and I am unaware of any other product quite like it on the market. I have been very pleased with its overall performance.”