Stora Enso builds strategic base in Suzhou
Stora Enso is building a strong foundation for future operations at its Suzhou Paper mill in China, by developing employee skills, implementing total quality management and optimizing local resources
by Robert Ryan
When the Swedish papermaker, Stora, acquired a majority share in the Suzhou Papyrus mill in the middle of 1998, the company did not only bring leading operational and marketing expertise to China. It also secured an important base for Stora Enso for serving long term growth in a promising market. The Nordic papermaking giant, Stora Enso, was formed later in 1998 under Stora's merger with Finland's Enso. Stora Enso, Europe's largest paper and board producer, now has a strategic presence in a key economic region in eastern China in the guise of Stora Enso Suzhou Paper.
The Suzhou mill started up in November 1996. Suzhou Papyrus Paper, as the mill was formerly known, was originally majority-owned by Hong Kong's Morningside, which held 81% of the shares in the company, while the local Light Industry Bureau held the remaining 19%. Stora bought a 61% stake in the mill in July 1998, and the name of the unit was formally changed to Stora Enso Suzhou Paper in 1999.
The mill is located in the Suzhou new district, also known under the full name of the National New High-tech Industrial Development Zone, which lies on the outskirts of the main city. Suzhou is one of the best locations in China for serving the local markets. The area is located in the high income province of Jiangsu, and near both Shanghai, China's largest city, and the relatively wealthy province of Zhejiang.
Lars-Åke Fritzson heads the team in Suzhou
in his position as managing director |
 |
Suzhou is also a good location from an operational point of view, with road, rail and canal links for the transport of both raw materials and finished goods. On top of that, the mill is in the heart of the "paper industrial cluster" of service industries that are needed to run an advanced paper mill, says the managing director of Suzhou Paper, Lars-Åke Fritzson. As a result, the mill is not only able to source 80% of its chemical needs locally, but the site is also close to the new Valmet service center, which is nearing completion in the nearby town of Wuxi, Fritzson adds.
The Suzhou mill began producing its first world standard coated art paper in 1997. But coated paper output from the mill was initially very low compared to the unit's design capacity. "This was due to lack of experience," says Fritzson. Coated paper production at Suzhou began to steadily increase following the July 1998 takeover by Stora, before reaching its design capacity in March 2000.
Adding up mill assets
The raw materials used at the mill are mostly bleached hardwood kraft pulp imported from Brazil and Thailand, as well as 20-25% long fiber pulp from Scandinavia and Canada. All of the pulp is sourced according to Stora Enso's fiber strategy, which takes both environmental and social factors into consideration. In keeping with this fiber strategy, the mill does not use pulp that is produced from mixed tropical hardwood.
Apart from the dedicated softwood and hardwood pulp lines, the mill also houses a third pulp line for bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP), which is currently sitting idle. The use of only high-grade imported market pulp contributes to the mill's reputation for producing high quality output. The pulp is imported to the port of Shanghai, and then transported by barge to the mill.
The Chinese mill has a Valmet paper machine for base paper production with a width of 3.8 m and design speed of 1,000 m/min. The PM is followed by an off-line coater, which was also installed by Valmet. Suzhou Paper currently produces more than its design capacity of 120,000 tonnes/yr of coated woodfree paper.
The PM has a SymFlo M headbox, followed by a SymFormer forming section with a wire width of 4.3 m. The web then proceeds to the SymPress II press section, which boasts a suction pickup and fourth press.
After the press section, the web proceeds to the drying section where there are 57 cylinders, which are configured in seven groups, including an initial two Uno Run dryer groups.
A SymSizer size press is situated after the fifth group of dryers, for the application of up to 1 g/m2 of sizing to both sides of the web. The size press uses the film transfer process. The sized paper then continues to the single nip calender.
The base paper is transferred from the PM for coating on the off-line coating machine. The coater has a trim width of 3.76 m and an operating speed of 1,150 m/min. The unit features four autoblade coating heads. The coater applies a total of 18-22 g/m² of coating chemical to each side of the web and follows a "top, bottom, top, bottom" coating sequence. The coating chemicals are prepared in a coating kitchen supplied by Jylharaisio, using much the same recipes as used in a typical modern mill in Europe, including CaCO&sub3; (calcium carbonate), clay, latex and starches.
The coated paper passes through the drying stage, which features airfoil dryers and drying cylinders. The web is then supercalendered to impart a high standard of gloss on the paper. Valmet winders complete the production line and churn out jumbo rolls with a diameter of 1.5 m. Both the PM and coating machine feature extensive automation installed by Valmet Automation, now called Metso Automation.
The mill transports much of its output by rail to markets throughout China. While rail transport times are relatively long, it is still the lowest cost mode of transport to reach the markets in southern China. Suzhou Paper staff oversee the paper loading at the local railway station, which is situated just five km from the mill, to make sure that the process runs smoothly.
The mill meets all of its steam needs and 40% of its electricity requirements from a captive coal-fired plant, which is located adjacent to the mill. Suzhou draws the rest of its electricity requirements from the local grid.
Total quality management
Stora Enso's vision for the Suzhou mill is to become the leading supplier of coated art paper in China, at least in terms of quality. To help the company reach this goal, the new Stora Enso management at the mill has adopted a total quality management (TQM) approach, which emphasizes continuous improvement and a strict quality focus to ensure that only A-grade products reach the market.
The mill's "Excellence 2005" TQM program measures several aspects of the mill's processes, performance and results. Fritzson reports an improvement in all of the indicators measured in 2000 compared to the previous year. The success of TQM efforts is clear, he explains. The site's output now exceeds its design capacity, and the mill has achieved a premium quality position in the market, he explains. "Continuous improvement will ensure good development in future," Fritzson says.
The implementation of a preventative maintenance program was one of the early practical steps taken by the new Stora Enso management to remove the quality deficiencies of the mill. This key area had previously been neglected.
Suzhou Paper is also working on ways to source raw materials locally. Under the scheme, the company is carrying out raw material testing to optimize quality, and there are already plans to source starch locally, for example.
Developing local talent
The Chinese mill has a highly qualified (and young) workforce with an average age of 32 years. Over 30% of the mill's 700 employees have a university education, including graduates from Nanjing Forestry University.
|
Stora Enso promotes career development
opportunities for local employees |
Finding local managers has become a priority at Suzhou Paper and provides opportunities for talented employees in the area to develop their careers and potential. The company offers extensive internal training programs in both technical and management skills for its employees, including basic on-the-job work experience in Stora Enso's European mills for the operators. Meanwhile, expatriate levels have been kept to a minimum, with only four European managers and senior staff working on site, as well as a Chinese expert who had previously emigrated to Finland.
While Suzhou has a highly skilled workforce, competition for qualified personnel is increasing in China, and the country must make an effort to find and keep talent. As a result, apart from career development, Suzhou Paper makes a point of offering top competitive salaries, as well as other benefits, which include subsidized housing, to attract key personnel.
Fritzson sees skilled human resources playing an increasingly important role in the future development of the company. "Modern technology is only one piece of the cake for a successful paper mill, and without the right competencies it will not be possible to build a competitive position in the future market," he explains. Employee competencies and skills, including management techniques, will be critical success factors in the future, he concludes. The company's TQM approach is just one step toward keeping ahead of the crowd.
|
1991: First Suzhou Paper company set up.
1993: Name changes to Suzhou Papyrus Paper.
November 1996: Suzhou Papyrus Paper mill started up. First coated paper produced in March 1997.
Mid-1998: Stora buys majority stake in the Suzhou Papyrus mill.
December 1998: Sweden's Stora and Finland's Enso merge. Suzhou mill now part of Stora Enso. Mill name officially changed to Stora Enso Suzhou Paper the following year.
March 2000: Coated paper output reaches design capacity.
May 2000: ISO 9001 certification.
2001: Debottlenecking to increase capacity to 150,000 tonnes/yr. |
|
|
