Pratt selects ABB cpmPlus to integrate paper mills, improve productivity

HELSINKI, Oct. 14, 2009 (Press Release) - Pratt Industries Inc., a leading worldwide producer of recycled paper and packaging materials, recently implemented and commissioned a comprehensive Pulp & Paper Collaborative Production Management (CPM) system delivered by ABB.

The cpmPlus for Pulp & Paper delivery consists of production tracking and quality management functions that are used by all US based Pratt Industries' paper mills in Shreveport, LA, Conyers, GA and Staten Island, NY. The delivery also includes box plant functionality, integration with Pratt's global business system, centralized sales order entry, invoicing and distribution as well as multi-mill planning functions, which are used in Pratt Industries' head office in Conyers, GA..

This delivery is in line with Pratt Industries' strategy to harmonize their operations globally, and dedication to continuous productivity improvement. This implementation extends the existing systems which ABB had previously installed in their six Australian paper mills.

The new CPM system provides Pratt Industries with better production and quality data visibility, centrally managed multi-mill planning and optimization, real-time integration with their box plants and paper mills and a modern IT system architecture.

This challenging IT-project was accomplished in 12 months - 6 months ahead of schedule - thanks to Pratt Industries' skillful and motivated project group from the USA and Australia and efficient ABB CPM product roll-out capability.

"ABB has a strong working relationship with Pratt Industries. This made it easy to get the buy-in from the end users; they expressed their pleasure at how easy and intuitive the new system is and how smoothly the roll-outs went." Matti Vartinen, ABB's Project Manager for the projects stated.

"Working together in a true partnership has enabled this project to be so successful. The combination of the full scope of supply and the flexibility to match the way Pratt wants to run their business, should greatly accelerate the sustainable return that Pratt Industries expects to achieve ." as Dennis Fleming, Pratt Industries Senior IT Director, summarized the project and the outcome.

cpmPlus is ABB's Collaborative Production Management suite of applications. cpmPlus provides process and production management, advanced optimization and connectivity solutions for the process industries.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.