In a world of constant change, some things remain the same. One of them is our commitment to serving customers in the pulp and paper industry around the world. New digital technologies allow us to do so faster and more efficiently than ever before. We provide our customers with world-leading flow control products and services built on technological excellence, experience and the highest safety standards.
Most of the true pulp and paper industry-specific valve innovations come from us. These innovations include, for example, the capping valve for batch cooking, high consistency valve for bleaching, NelesAce valve for basis weight control, ceramic ball valve for erosive applications and intelligent valve controllers. To date, we have delivered about 3,200 basis weight valves and more than 1,600 capping valves. Neldisc™ was, in fact, the first metal-seated butterfly valve in the world. Our products feature innovative, yet fundamentally simple construction, operation and maintenance features to optimize process performance at the lowest cost.
“We are the global market leader in valve solutions and services for the pulp and paper industry. Our installed base is huge; we have supplied valves to almost all pulp and paper mills around the world over the past 60 years, and 75% of the world’s pulp flows through our valves,” says Mika Sjöholm, Vice President, Pulp and Paper business line. “Actually, we intend to strengthen our leading position further and develop new innovative valve solutions and services that bring benefits to the global pulp and paper industry.”
Securing customer success throughout the mill life cycle
“New winds are blowing. The demand for printing grades is decreasing due to the growth of electronic media. On the other hand, the demand for packaging grades is increasing as more and more items are bought online and need delivery packages. Many paper machines are being converted into board machines, especially in the Nordic countries,” Sjöholm points out. “In the pulp business, new production capacity is being built by expanding existing mills and building new ones.”
We want to help mills meet these new challenges, improve process efficiency, boost business profitability and promote sustainability throughout the mill life cycle. Our valve solutions offering covers all pulp and paper processes and is by far the widest on the market. “For years, we have also been supporting our customers with value-adding services. Thanks to these things, our customers can avoid unexpected valve failure and unscheduled shutdowns,” Sjöholm says.
We are now taking service one step further. In the future, services will include, for example, energy efficiency analyses that reveal whether valves and control loops are operating in the most optimal way.
More through digitalization
Digitalization, one of today’s megatrends, is an interesting area into which we are expanding our services. We are continuously investing in the development of new digital tools and services to improve the customer experience. The first step includes providing the customers with correct sizing and product information about valves in an electronic format directly into their information systems upon valve delivery. Having immediate access to the correct information helps start-up, maintenance and upkeep during operation. Thanks to modern cloud services, the mill does not need to build a new system for the digital valve information.
“There are thousands of valves in a pulp or a paper mill. When you are in a great hurry, finding the correct information about the products in the traditional way is like detective work,” Sjöholm says. “This is why we have further developed our Device Management Solution in which we are responsible for valve inventories and maintenance. We are now capable of delivering our product data in a digital format into the customer’s maintenance system, too.”
Expanding global presence
Modern service centers and more than 400 dedicated service professionals around the world provide services for both Valmet and third-party field devices, including valves, actuators, smart devices and pumps. In addition, they are the source for spare parts, field support and diagnostic services as well as training programs. Building on these technical services, we offer business solutions, such as Shutdowns and Turnarounds, Intelligent Maintenance, Device Management and Control Performance, to optimize maintenance, reliability and production efficiency.
“We are continuously expanding our presence close to our customers and developing our service network. We want to ensure that our customers have access to our support not only during the delivery and startup periods, but also during the entire mill life cycle,” Sjöholm remarks. “For the customers, our service know-how and capabilities mean efficient and on-time maintenance. This, in turn, results in maximized process availability, better efficiency, lower total cost of ownership, increased sustainability and higher safety.”
Globe valves for the world’s largest pulp mill
We are busy supplying thousands of valves with accessories and spare parts for PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills, located in southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The order was largest ever flow control products delivery for the pulp and paper industry. Extensive delivery consists of high-quality valves for control and on-off use. In addition to segment, ball and butterfly valves, the delivery also includes standard and severe service globe valves complemented by intelligent valve controllers.
“Our reliable valves and intelligent valve controllers are designed to eliminate emissions and increase process efficiency. When using our valves, the customer can increase sustainability and safety in the pulp making process,” says See Hoe Lau, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific market area, Sales and Services.
TEXT: Marjaana Lehtinen PHOTOS: Valmet and Shutterstock
Published in Results flow control customer magazine 1/2016.
Text originally published in 2016, and slightly updated in April 2022, due to the company name change to Valmet.
