Metso Paper to supply a winder and roll handling system to Mondi Business Papers, Merebank mill, South Africa

Published Sept 27, 2004 13.00.00 +2 GMT

Mondi Business Papers SA has placed an order for a high capacity WinDrum Pro winder and an extensive roll handling system including a radial stretch wrapper and a roll lowerator system for renewed PM 31 at Merebank mill. The WinDrum Pro will be the fourth consecutive Metso winder supplied to the Merebank mill.

Collectively, the equipment forms an OptiStream entity. OptiStream assures that all segments of the purchased roll finishing equipment would come together in a seamless manner. Sourcing the complete system from Metso Paper has the added advantage in that fewer people from the mill's project organization will need to coordinate the project. Using Metso Paper as the supplier for the entire system means a faster start-up and reaching full production speed quickly.

The OptiStream roll finishing system will be delivered to PM 31 at the Mondi Merebank mill in Durban, South Africa in spring 2005, as a part of Mondi’s PM31 conversion to uncoated wood free grades. In addition to WinDrum Pro winder and roll handling, the delivery includes a rebuild and relocation of the existing PM31 WinBelt winder to PM 32 line.

The trim width of the fully automated WinDrum Pro winder is 5,8 m. Operational speed is 2500 m/min. The winder is equipped with automatic set change, butt-joint splicer, automatic slitter positioning, automated core handling, core and end gluing. The delivery also includes AutoReel reel spool handling system and automated parent reel transfer rails from the paper machine to the winder.

WinDrum Pro winders give paper mills the ability to meet industry production demands by increasing winder throughput. New active tools for high-speed winding, increased winding speed and a truly remarkable 15-second set change can provide up to 15% more winder capacity.

Mondi Business Papers SA, which consists of the Richards Bay Kraft mill, Eucalyptus Forests, Silvacel and the Merebank paper mill, is a large producer of pulp and paper. The Merebank mill is located in Durban on South Africa's Indian Ocean coast. The current annual capacity of the mill is 540 000 tons, consisting of newsprint, SC and uncoated wood-free papers. The mill will discontinue production of SC grades next year with the rebuild and conversion of the PM 31 machine to uncoated wood-free copy paper grades.

More information: Harri Kuosa, Vice President, Sales, Paper Business Line, Metso Paper Inc. Tel. +358 40 528 2047, harri.kuosa@metso.com