Technology

NZ pulp mill boosts plant reliability

Aleading New Zealand pulp mill has upgraded its Distributed Control System (DCS) to Rockwell Automation’s PlantPAx.

Winstone Pulp International Ltd (WPI) produces a range of timber and pulp products derived from renewable plantations of Radiata pine for both New Zealand and international markets.

Its pulp mill in Karioi, Ohakune (about 100km south of Lake Taupo) was experiencing usability challenges with its DCS, and WPI saw risks for the future of the business.

“Our existing DCS was coming to the end of its lifecycle. It required highly specialised knowledge and was not easy to modify if our needs changed. It was not a cost-efficient or optimised way of running the pulp mill,” said Lindsay Rowe, project manager, WPI.

WPI already had Rockwell Automation’s PlantPAx DCS running in some areas of the plant, where it was operating reliably and efficiently, so the decision was made to convert the rest of the plant to PlantPAx, to create a unified DCS.

“We wanted a true DCS to be implemented plantwide – something that was user-friendly, with standard template that could easily be modified as our needs change in the future. Importantly, we wanted a DCS that was simple to learn and to operate, to minimise the risk of an experienced maintenance technician retiring and leaving a knowledge gap in the company, for example,” added Rowe. WPI produces a range of timber and pulp products derived from renewable plantations of Radiata pine for both New Zealand and international markets.

The Karioi pulp mill –which produces wood pulp that is used for folding boxboard manufacture – has more than doubled its production capacity since it began in 1978, by implementing new plant, processes, and technology. WPI’s latest investment follows this trend of utilising proven technology to drive reliability and efficiency benefits.