Van Houtum Papier increases production and quality with Voith fabrics
HEIDENHEIM, Germany, May 27, 2008 (Press Release) - Van Houtum Papier attempted to increase production and quality by changing the clothing on the crescent former of their PM 4 in Swalmen, the Netherlands. They also hoped to increase the speed of the PM 4, which they use to produce quality paper towels. In cooperation with Voith Paper Fabrics, the paper mill began a trial with TissueFlex V3. This type of press fabric, which has a coated non-woven structure worked into it, ensures less break and a high machine speed as well as lower energy consumption. And ultimately, because of this, productivity can be increased.
TissueFlex V3 contributed to significantly reducing the paper mill's costs. The machine did not have to be shut down to clean the felt and it required only minimal treatment. The use of chemicals could also be reduced by around 50% per run.
Another positive result is that the felts are now cleaned under lower pressure. This consumes less water, lowers costs with regard to chemicals and increases production by four to five days.
Another important outcome was that the lifespan of the felt increased - by approximately 20% compared with previous products.
Using TissueFlex V3 made it possible to increase the speed over and above the typical tissue machine limit of 1,500 m/min. A new record of 1,550 m/min was achieved, with a basis weight of 16.5 g/m2. The tonnage produced increased by 16.2%.
The next step of this success story took place when TissueForm E and TissueFlex V3 were used together. With the tandem clothing, the machine speed increased by a further 4%.
TissueForm E is a warp-bound triple layer forming fabric with a very fine surface structure. It has excellent dewatering properties and low fiber loss and is easy to clean. Little remoistening and hardly any water drag are further positive qualities.
What applies to the felt can also be said of the forming fabric: cleaning with less water and chemicals; a clear plus for the environment and Van Houtum Papier's productivity.
