Indah Kiat Perawang 50% time savings in doctoring, case study

When Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Perawang (IKPP) was looking to further boost machine runnability and performance, they challenged Valmet's specialists to find potential areas for improvement. It started with a review of the entire doctoring process.

Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Perawang mill is one of Asia Pulp & Paper's biggest mills. It is located on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The fully integrated mill produces some 800,000 tonnes of pulp and around 1.2 million tonnes of paper and board annually.

Review of doctoring process

PM 6 is 10,500 mm wide and has a design speed of 1,500 m/min and a capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year. It produces woodfree coated and uncoated papers. During several on-site studies, all doctoring positions were checked, and their current status was documented. An improvement plan was made to cover the whole doctoring process.

Indah Kiat and Valmet doctoring team

"The positions needing immediate focus were clearly identified by our doctoring specialists. We scheduled a doctor blade holder replacement project and prioritized the positions in need of immediate action. Our initial delivery included Valmet Doctor Holder Compact blade holders, doctor blades, pneumatic control boxes and fixing screws, all carefully selected for each position. We replaced the outdated doctor blade holders with the latest technology. In addition to superior doctoring performance and the easy maintenance of our doctor blade holders, we were able to meet the customer's expectations of a short delivery time in the first installation," said Pasi Viitasalo, Valmet Global Technology Manager.

Continuous benefits

Good results in the initial doctoring improvement project led to continuous cooperation between IKPP Perawang mill and Valmet.

"We work together regularly, and we've been able to further improve the doctoring process. In addition to a better doctoring result, we've achieved less doctoring-related downtime and easy holder maintenance operations. We've also been able to reduce the customer's net working capital tied to the doctor blade inventory with the optimized doctor blade types the machine requires," continues Viitasalo.

Easier maintenance

"We've been very satisfied with Valmet's doctor blade holders, so we've renewed our order. Compared with conventional ones, Valmet Doctor Holder Compact blade holders enable easier maintenance. The time saving is up to 50 percent, and we require less manpower. Changing or cleaning doctor blades as the machine is running has increased overall efficiency by 3 percent. And Valmet offers good support during the start-up," said Aska Ramadhan from IKPP Perawang Mill.

For more information on doctoring improvements at your mill, contact your Valmet representative.