Twin wire press retrofit at Winstone Pulp International

Winstone Pulp International is having a comprehensive twin wire press retrofit carried out by Andritz at its Karioi pulp mill in New Zealand.

The current Andritz twin wire press with a working width of 2m has been in operation since the mill opened in 1978. To improve the machine’s performance, reliability and safety, Andritz will replace the machine’s carbon steel frame with a stainless-steel version and modernise other machine components. The order was said to have been won on its ease of replacement.

The retrofit will leave the machine foundations and connections basically untouched. All installed rolls and bearings will be reused, as well as the dewatering boards replaced by Andritz in 2019.

The press retrofit will include: l a new cantilever system for easier and safer wire replacement l a modernised headbox with modified outlet geometry for improved pulp sheet formation l an upgraded drive section, and l a new wire tensioning system Winstone Pulp International is

Øistein Vedahl, managing director of Ranheim Paper & Board, said: “This rebuild represents a strategic investment aimed to increase the production and efficiency of PM5. We selected Toscotec because we knew their ability to successfully manage rebuild projects, and we were impressed with their technical solution during the discussion of the project.” a privately-owned subsidiary of the Oregon Group and operates two sites: the Karioi Pulpmill and Tangiwai Sawmill. The Karioi pulp mill produces 220,000 admt of high-yield bleached chemical thermomechanical pulp.

With a history going back to 1884, the mill was renamed Ranheim Paper & Board after the restructuring in 2016 of Peterson Packaging group. With capacity for 120,000 tons per year of paper and 50 million square metres of solid board, it is owned now by Fundermax.