Successful market expansion through grade conversion rebuild – Cascades Containerboard Packaging – Bear Island

Recycled linerboard and corrugating medium have long been the core business for the company. Luc Pelletier, Vice-President, Operations, Packaging, Cascades highlights their pioneering efforts in North America, being among the first, if not the very first, to produce recycled medium in linerboard. This strategy has been in place for 60 years, and the Bear Island mill is a direct extension of their commitment to maintaining a strong U.S. base capacity focused on lower basis weight in recycled medium and linerboard. 

There were several main reasons for Cascades to acquire the mill, including the facts that the trim and geographical location were ideal for supporting their southeast expansion in the U.S. The mill’s status as a brownfield site also presented an opportunity to rehire former employees, a factor that Mathieu Gendron, Plant Manager, Cascades Containerboard Packaging – Bear Island, emphasizes due to the availability of a high-quality workforce.  

Although the location checked many boxes, the conversion of the mill was a significant undertaking, requiring a reliable industry partner. Pelletier explains that Valmet was chosen for this transformation due to their expertise with similar projects, while also being the OEM for the existing Beloit machine, which was delivered in the 1970s.

Key technologies doubled the mill capacity 

From Gendron’s point of view the decision to co-operate with Valmet was influenced by Valmet’s proven track record of modifying existing equipment with new technology, ensuring the success of such a large-scale conversion. 

“When we do a conversion like this one, you want to be sure that the technology will work. It is about how we can modify existing equipment with the new technology. We knew that Valmet did this similar conversion in the past, and that reference played a big part in our decision to choose Valmet,” Gendron explains.  

There were also technological upgrades that were required to double the mill’s capacity. Valmet collaborated with Cascades on adding a new headbox, enhancing both the forming section and the press section, and expanding the drying section. They also installed a size press, upgraded the old reel, and added a new winder at the end of the production line to achieve their goals. 

When talking about the specific technologies that were included in the machine line, David Lavoie, Production Manager PM 1, Cascades Containerboard Packaging – Bear Island highlights the Valmet Stock Mixing MD as an ideal technology to achieve stable mixing and consistency in the approach flow system. “I've been satisfied with the mixing. The typical machine has a mixing tank, and we were able to put that in a pipe and avoid having to build or construct a tank to do the mixing. We can do the mixing all in the big pipe, which is the biggest benefit in there.” Lavoie says.

Another technological highlight is the OptiFlo Gap headbox. “We have very good and consistent profile, and a good dry weight profile, which is all we are asking for on the lightweight linerboard machine. We have really been pleased with that,” says Lavoie. The experiences on the headbox maintenance have also been positive. “The headbox has been reliable. The actuators, and everything that controls the profile, have been good. The headbox is in a tough zone where it is exposed to a lot of water, so sometimes it can be hard to maintain, but so far so good,” Lavoie continues.  

The new OptiSizer Film sizer plays a key role in improving the strength properties of paper. “The sizer is where we get a lot of our strength, especially on the lightweight paper. And the sizer has been running well,” says Lavoie. He also compliments the supply system by saying, that: 

“I like this screening system with two screens. I came from a machine that only had one instead of two pressure screen feedings. It provides better options if there's some housekeeping that needs to be done on one screen. It helps for the uptime of the machine. So that is a very nice upgrade. One other upgrade is the size kitchen heat recovery, which I think is awesome for low energy consumption purpose, that's a very interesting design and it has been running well.” 

The machine line also includes innovative technology, the Valmet Starch Cooking ZE system. The system features a zero effluent solution that diminishes the carbon footprint of the starch cooking process while improving the operational reliability, efficiency, and process quality. It also offers fully continuous operation even when the mill experiences normal production stops. “The new starch cooking system has been running without any consumption at the paper machine. That is also one thing that is very nice with this design here is that we can actually keep the system running and in a small switch we can turn back to cooking, which was not the case in previous system,” Lavoie concludes.  

At the end of the machine line is a new OptiWin Drum two-drum base winder, which has met all the set requirements and targets from safety and capacity point of view. Lavoie explains that they have been satisfied, and that the integrated safety features and the automatic tail threading have been the main benefits of this technology

Start-up and ramp-up supported by Performance Agreement and Industrial Internet solutions 

PM 1 in Bear Island started up in May 2023 after the successful grade conversion. Gendron shares that the startup phase went exceptionally well, with the team producing good quality paper within two weeks. They initially produced corrugated medium, followed soon after by linerboard grades, while maintaining high quality on both. Gendron attributes this success to good engineering, sound decisions, and the support from Valmet and their team during the machine startup. 

“When we signed the contract with Valmet, we did not only buy a machine and the technology, but we also accepted to sign the service agreement,” Gendron explains. The overarching goal of the Performance Agreement is to improve process reliability and performance, by utilizing both local and global Valmet experts working as part of Cascades team, to move the machine performance forward.  

“We needed the support from Valmet through the Performance Agreement that we signed. And we really saw that it made a huge difference. Remote monitoring is a key aspect. Now that we are in the refining of the start-up, we really benefit from getting all the data that comes from Finland remotely. On-site paper machine expert was also key to unlocking many issues that we are working with our team,” Gendron concludes. 

In addition to the on-site local expert services and remote expert support from Valmet Performance Center, the mill has also utilized other Industrial Internet solutions, such as advanced monitoring and prediction applications to optimize performance with data and intelligent software, for machine ramp-up optimization and operator support. Lavoie highlights the benefits of remote connections, which allows Cascades Bear Island team to access the Distributed Control System (DCS) and see what the operators are seeing. This capability is particularly helpful when they are off-site, enabling continuous support for the operators. Lavoie mentions the various tools they have at their disposal, including the applications in the Customer Portal and the Valmet Quality Predictor, which they aim to leverage more continuously. 

The dashboards from Valmet’s self-service analytics tools have been particularly useful as well, providing operators with charts to ensure they are operating within optimal zones. Lavoie also praises the Paper Machine Clothing Monitor tool, which helps compare fabrics and manage inventory. 

Consistency and reliability for high-speed quality converting 

In the containerboard business, achieving high compression strength is crucial to prevent boxes from being crushed. Pelletier emphasizes the importance of meeting stringent strength targets for both medium and linerboard, noting that their business essentially revolves around selling strength to their customers. Within just two weeks, quality targets for corrugating medium were already met, and shortly after, they achieved their targets for linerboard. Pelletier highlights this rapid success as a significant achievement. 

To remain competitive, Pelletier stresses the necessity of producing top-quality products that meet strength property targets. However, he points out that the ultimate test is how their sheets perform in their customers’ facilities, especially with the increasing investments in high-speed corrugators. As these machines operate faster, they require a very stable product to ensure smooth unwinding. Therefore, reliability and stability in their end products are paramount to meet their customers’ speed targets on the corrugators. Pelletier concludes by noting that their customers appreciate the stability of their sheets in both cross-direction and machine direction, which is vital for their business.  

Sustainability as core value 

Cascades was founded in 1964 on the simple idea of creating something new out of something old - using recycled materials to manufacture its products. This makes them one of the first companies in the North American pulp and paper industry to make the circular economy its business model. “Cascades has been in this business of recycled containerboard for 60 years. Sustainability is within our roots and in our DNA. This is a value we have, to be sustainable in whatever we do,” Pelletier describes. 

Pelletier proudly highlights their achievements in water and energy consumption, noting that they are over four times lower in water consumption and more than twice as efficient in energy consumption as their North American peers. This efficiency was a key design goal for the Bear Island Mill, and within a few months of start-up, they had already met their water consumption targets. 

With an annual production capacity of 465,000 short tons of lightweight, high-quality, 100% recycled containerboard, the mill is equipped to perform within the top quartile of its industry.

Success through co-operation 

The co-operation of the two companies goes back already over a decade ago, when Valmet supplied a high-quality, lightweight containerboard production line PM 1 for Cascades Greenpac mill in 2013. Pelletier emphasizes the strong cooperation between Cascades and Valmet during the design phase of the Bear Island project. The open discussions and collaborative project execution contributed significantly to the project’s success. He expresses satisfaction with the support received from Valmet during the startup phase, acknowledging that while they faced challenges, they overcame them together, reinforcing the positive partnership. 

“First we need the equipment to produce a good quality product, be reliable, and allow us to increase the production and ramp up easily. Second, because of the nature of a project like this, when we refurbished like we did here, it's a long process, it goes over several years. So, we also wanted to match with a partner that would have the same values. For us that means respect, teamwork, good communication and determination. Really just making sure that we would never give up as a team was important. The third thing that we looked at is how would we be able to get the support to ramp up the operation as quickly as possible. And we found out that Valmet was a perfect fit for us in all these three aspects.”  Matthieu Gendron

Gendron acknowledges that the project was not without its challenges, particularly given the brownfield nature of the site, which required quick problem-solving. However, he expresses overall satisfaction with the machine’s ramp-up and the quality of the product. Fine-tuning of the machine line continues, they are producing good quality board, and their customers are happy, marking the project as a success. 

Text: Elsa Sinjaga