A new generation of reels enters the tissue market

With more than 200 improvements and three patents pending, the new generation of Valmet tissue reels is a better, safer and more reliable product – with fewer disturbances and higher productivity.

Anna Boström Mora reports

Since its development in 2005, Valmet’s family of reels has given tissue producers a competitive edge. The equipment is one of the most innovative winding systems on the market. To maintain it as the industry’s preferred choice, many continuous improvements to the product’s components have been made over the years.

Today, the product is mature, with a well-proven track record. It is compliant with all the standard safety requirements. Despite this, the team at Valmet believed that more improvements could be made, and so Advantage Softreel (P & L) evolved.

Product manager Mickey Lindevall explains: “Although we had an excellent product, we wanted to aim for more. Over the last two decades, tissue production has certainly evolved. Today, safety awareness among our customers and in the overall industry is higher. More mills are moving toward autonomous production, and the Internet of Things is playing a bigger role. Customers want to invest in products that are ready for the future.”

Built on many good ideas

While many upgrades have already been made to the current family of reels, many more improvements have been collected separately during dialogue with customers and among Valmet’s product development teams.

Lindevall continues: “We came to a point when we had so many ideas we wanted to realise but felt that the current product had reached its maximum level of advancement. It was now time to take all these improvement ideas and hand them over to the next generation of reels.”

Further development ideas were gathered in numerous interviews with people including sales, startup teams, customers, product owners and production teams. It was clear from the start that the core of the current reel should be kept – there is no reason to change a winning concept. However, the team were now equipped with the tools to make it even better.

Improved and upgraded

Johan Björn, sales director for the EMEA at Valmet, is looking forward to the introduction of this new generation of reels which will improve operations.

“I have great confidence in this product,” he said. “The new reel has modular possibilities, and it’s prepared for more and new technology. All new full-line orders will include the new generation, but we are naturally happy to speak about potential replacements of current equipment as well.

“I’m proud to say that the product is truly state-of-the art when it comes to safety. The dry end of the tissue machine is where the operators spend most of their time, so it’s also the place with the most safety risks. With new technology, we can limit the manual handling of the rolls, allowing a safer working

environment.”

Advantage SoftReel also features a new and upgraded user interface, and it adds several automation features and Valmet Industrial Internet options, which makes it a significant improvement from the previous generation.

A real team effort

The development process has really been a joint effort. A broad team from the tissue organisation contributed to the project, including steering groups, product engineers, a reference team with specific competences and other functions such as supply, engineering, product safety and Valmet’s Industrial Internet team.

The new Advantage SoftReel is due to be ready to enter the market in mid-2023.