Valmet to Deliver a New Off-Machine Coater

Valmet will deliver a new off-machine coater to Oji Papéis Especiais (OPE) in Brazil. With the new off-machine coater PC4, OPE aims to increase its thermal paper production capacity while focusing on Brazilian, South American and North American markets, thereby enhancing its global competitiveness. The PC4 will boost OPE's thermal paper production capacity by 80%. The new off-machine coater is scheduled to start operations in November 2021. The order is included in Valmet's orders received in the second quarter of 2020. The order value was not disclosed, but orders of this type typically range from EUR 25-35 million. Giovani Varella, Industrial Director of Oji Papéis Especiais, said: "OPE selected Valmet as its partner for this PC4 project because Valmet has the most advanced thermal coating application technology on the market. Valmet's curtain-type coating head is a coating application system with simultaneous dual coating strokes without contacting the paper and an optimum coating profile, and its low-energy-consuming air dryers are highly efficient. The PC4 coater, together with Valmet's measurement and quality control systems (QCS), will also feature the latest technology for distributed control system (DCS) and Valmet DNA automation system. This new PC4 coater machine will position OPE among the world's largest and most modern thermal paper mills," he said. Timo Saresvuo, Senior Sales Manager at Valmet, provided information on the matter: "Our cooperation with OPE was excellent and our relationship was already at a very good level due to previous automation projects. During the sales project, we worked together to develop the most suitable concept for OPE's objectives. It is always important for us to serve the customer as quickly and well as possible during the challenging procurement process. The performance of key technologies has been proven through successful pilot trials and references."

Valmet's off-machine coater will include a new OptiCoat Layer curtain coating station that provides excellent profile and coating even in thin layers, allowing the amount of expensive thermal coating color to be kept low.

The delivery will also include a rewind, an OptiCalender Soft calendar, an OptiReel Center reel and OptiDry Coat coating air dryers. Air drying capacity and temperatures have been carefully calculated and optimized for high-quality thermal paper. The delivery will also include a feed system for the curtain coating unit. The start-up and further optimization of the new board machine will be remotely supported from Valmet Performance Center using the latest Industrial Internet solutions. Data-driven and proactive remote support is a fast and efficient way to ensure optimal thermal paper quality is achieved and the machine meets its planned start-up curve. The automation delivery will include the Valmet DNA automation system with machine controls and condition monitoring features. Additionally, the Valmet IQ quality management system with full-scale quality control, moisture profile shaper, and machine vision systems consisting of web monitoring systems (WMS) and web inspection systems (WIS) will also be included. The off-machine coating device, 4,200 mm wide (winder), will produce thermal grades in the 44-55 g/m² basis weight range. The design speed is 1,200 m/min.