Värö update: The hard work is paying off
We’re delighted to report that Södra Cell Värö broke a new production record last week, achieving 2,270 tonnes in one day. Continuous production is averaging 2,100 tpd (considerably exceeding our target for this period at 1,900 tpd).
Of course, success is about quality as well as quantity. Having completed phase one, which was to achieve a stable production process on the new line, we are now busy fine tuning phase two, the introduction of ECF grades.
Quality improvement is a continuous process, even for an established mill, but the results from Värö are looking very positive, reflected by increasingly-enthusiastic feedback from our customers: One has just placed an order for 1,500 tonnes per month of a new ECF grade.
As expected, since Värö is almost a completely new line, its output is slightly different to that of the old line and learning how to optimise every recipe and every aspect of the process takes time. Part of that learning curve has involved close cooperation with our customers during test runs and we are extremely grateful for their input and patience – the progress we have made to date would have been impossible without them.
With careful optimisation of both raw materials and process adjustments, we have been able to produce a wide range of pulps using our full raw material base, including thinnings, roundwood and sawmill chips. We are seeing some outstanding properties from these grades during test runs, including excellent dewatering potential, high tensile and tear strength under a variety of refining conditions, high bulk and very good reinforcement potential.
The drive to get the best from Värö continues and we see the potential to extract even higher quality from the mill in the future, but with the initial startup phase over, this is a very promising start. We look forward to seeing the hard work pay off when the next ECF campaign is run over the following weeks.
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Subjects: Pulp
