Mondi Business Paper South Africa invests in high-end cut-size production
November 2007
By Justin Toland, Editor
Mondi Merebank mill on the outskirts of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa is one of the largest facilities in the Mondi group, housing four paper machines and two distinct businesses. While Mondi Shanduka Newsprint is responsible for running PM 42 (capacity: 265,000 tonnes/yr), PMs 31, 32 and 33 are the province of Mondi Business Paper South Africa (MBPSA).
PM 32 produces offset 60-110 g/m2 paper that is made into folio sheets. Output in 2006 was 110,957 tonnes, with 117,000 tonnes forecast for 2007. PM 33 makes 80 g/m2 offset paper for cut-size sheeting. Last year production on the unit amounted to 147,620 tonnes, with 165,000 tonnnes predicted this year.
The largest of the three MBPSA machines is PM 31. This unit, which previously churned out 95,000 tonnes/yr of supercalendered (SC) paper was dismantled and rebuilt from top to toe by Voith Paper in 2005, with technology including a a Voith NipCoFlex press. The 'new' PM 31 and integrated winder have been designed to manufacture 266,000 tonnes/yr of 80 g/m2 office paper grades. The Euro 179 million ($250 million) investment was also aimed at reducing the mill's specific power consumption and at cutting water consumption by an estimated 10%.
In September 2007, Voith modified the unit's headbox with a new nozzle design and a change to the impingement of the jet on the forming roll. This was to unblock a bottleneck and enable PM 31 to reach its full capacity. The machine had churned out just 155,408 tonnes in 2006.
To complement the replacement of PM 31, Merebank started up a new sheeting line – Cut-size line 5 – in May 2005. The Euro 20 million investment has given the mill an additional 180,000 tonnes/yr of sheeting capacity (for a grand total of 437,000 tonnes/yr, of which 402,000 tonnes/yr is cut-size, 20,000 tonnes/yr folio and 15,000 tonnes/yr carbonless). The 14-pocket line is one of the largest and fastest of its kind in the world, capable of churning out 210 reams/minute and with an integrated palletizer that can pack boxes on 13 different pallet types.
To coincide with the PM 31 project, Mondi also installed a new flue gas desulfurization plant, which started up in February 2005 at a cost of Euro 5.2 million. The flue gas desulfurization of coal-fired boilers has resulted in SO2 emissions being reduced by approximately 66% to less than 3 tonnes/day.
A new multi-fuel boiler, supplied by Babcock & Wilcox, is expected to come into service at Merebank before the end of this year.
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- Employees – 2,300
- Paper production – 413,985 tonnes (2006)
- CCM production (Richards Bay) – 251,436 tonnes (2006)
- Pulp production (Richards Bay) – 692,984 tonnes (2006)
- Capital expenditure (2004/5) – Euro 397 million
- Brands: Rotatrim (office paper), Baywhite (CCM).
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PM 31 produces Mondi Rotatrim office paper. Designed for everyday use with high whiteness, the paper is suitable for use in inkjet and laser printers, copiers and fax machines. Mondi says that Rotatrim is the leading brand in South Africa with a market share of 58%. It was the first office paper made in South Africa and sold globally to achieve FSC chain-of-custody certification.
MBPSA office paper (A4) sales in 2006:
- Domestic – 72,200 tonnes
- Middle East – 64,200 tonnes
- Rest of Africa – 25,700 tonnes
- Europe (excluding UK) – 25,700 tonnes
- Far East – 21,300 tonnes
- Australia – 20,900 tonnes
- UK – 14,100 tonnes
- USA – 20 tonnes.
MBPSA domestic market share (2006):
- Cut-size – 58%
- Folio – 48%
- Uncoated woodfree reels – 57%
- Carbonless – 73%.
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