Valmet to deliver a new lime kiln and a fiberline upgrade for SCA Obbola kraftliner expansion project in Sweden

Valmet Oyj’s press release on November 19, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. EET

Valmet will deliver key technology for upgrading the SCA Obbola mill’s pulp production in Sweden. Valmet’s delivery includes a new fossil free lime kiln and upgrade of the existing fiberline. The pulp production upgrades will happen in stages. The upgraded fiberline will start up in June 2021 and the new lime kiln is scheduled to start up during the last quarter of 2021.

The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the fourth quarter 2019. The value of the order will not be disclosed. A project of this size and scope is typically valued at around EUR 50 million.

Valmet’s delivery is part of SCA’s major investment to increase the annual production of kraftliner in Obbola mill from the current 450,000 tonnes to 725,000 tonnes per year. The total investment amounts to SEK 7.5 billion (about EUR 700 million) over a five-year period.

“With the investment in Obbola mill, we can meet the increased demand for sustainable packaging. We selected Valmet to deliver new technology for our pulp mill upgrade as we have had good experiences of Valmet technology at both our Obbola mill and other SCA mills,” tells Per Stand, Project Director from SCA.

“This order strengthens our cooperation with SCA. Delivering fossil fuel free lime kiln solution is very much aligned with the strategies of both our companies. SCA valued our technical leadership in lime kilns as well as robust and reliable solutions both for the lime kiln and fiberline,” says Bertel Karlstedt, Pulp and Energy Business Line President, Valmet. 

Valmet will deliver key pulp technology for increasing the production for SCA Obbola mill’s new kraftliner paper machine. (Photo: SCA/Bergslagsbild)

Technical details about Valmet’s delivery

The new lime kiln system delivered by Valmet replaces two old oil fueled lime kilns and will have a daily capacity of 220 tonnes burned lime. The solution includes OptiDisc Lime Mud Filter, Flash Dryer for lime mud drying, high efficiency Rotary Cooler and a full Wood Powder Firing System for the lime kiln, including storage and grinding of wood pellets. This solution makes the lime kiln 100 percent fossil free. SCA also operates a wood powder fired lime kiln delivered by Valmet at its Munksund mill.

The fiberline upgrade includes a new hot stock refining after the digester using Conflo refiners. The brown stock washing will be improved by adding a new TwinRoll press as last washing stage before the storage towers for the paper machine. As a result of the fiber line upgrade the daily capacity will increase from today’s 850 air dry tons to 1,100 air dry tons. The capacity increase is done with improved washing with the same water consumption.

Information about the customer SCA

SCA offers paper for packaging and print, pulp, wood products, renewable energy, services for forest owners and efficient transport solutions. In 2018 SCA had approximately 4,000 employees and sales amounted to approximately EUR 1.8 bn. SCA was founded in 1929 and has four pulp and paper mills in Sweden. In September 2019 SCA announced its plan to build a new paper machine for the production of kraftliner at its Obbola paper mill in Umeå.

For further information, please contact:
Claus Jensen-Holm, Director Lime Kiln Technology, Pulp and Energy, Valmet, tel. +45 6023 8810, claus.jensen-holm@valmet.com
Mikael Gustafsson, Senior Sales Manager, Fiberline Sales, Pulp and Energy, Valmet, tel. +46706533809, mikael.gustafsson@valmet.com

VALMET
Corporate Communications

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

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