Papierfabrik Albert Fripa Miltenberg's PM 6 achieves record speed and production with Voith's TissueFlex V3 press felt

HEIDENHEIM, Germany, April 8, 2011 (Press Release) - Papierfabrik Albert Fripa Miltenberg PM 6, Germany, achieved record production by maintaining a constant speed of 2,025 m/min for over 60 days. The highest level of nip dewatering under the shortest dwell time in the press zone was provided by Voith's TissueFlex V3 press felt, in use for over 100 days throughout the entire record production run. The consistent performance of the machine was supported by the effective cleaning combination of the DuoCleaner Express and TissueForm V Crescent-Former fabric.

Together these benefits resulted in additional production of more than 5 t/day at such a low level of energy consumption that energy-wise there was an opportunity to further increase machine speed.

The successful production run started on October 19, 2010 with a normal start-up performance curve. As the machine data showed low energy usage, regular profiles and good sheet properties it was decided to increase the speed to 1,950 m/min, and then to 2,025 m/min. This speed was maintained until the TissueFlex V3 reached the end of its planned life on February 01, 2011.

Fripa is a dynamic growing family company in Germany with 375 employees. Their product range includes toilet tissue, kitchen towel on virgin fiber and hand towel based on recycled fiber.

This was the first time in nearly three years that the machine had been able to run at its maximum operating speed over a long period of time. This success shows how Voith Paper can work in partnership with the tissue industry to bring a full range of integrated products and solutions to improve machine speed, productivity, costs and quality.