Voith Paper equips MD Plattling.

Voith Paper, Heidenheim, Germany, will supply new finishing equipment for MD Paper's LWC mill in Plattling, Germany, which is modernizing its finishing equipment in preparation for the production of jumbo rolls suitable for new rotogravure printing presses of 4,300 mm width and more. Modifications include the conversion of one of the two existing VariTop center-drum winders to wind up finished jumbo rolls with a width of 4,500 mm and 1,270 mm diameter, and replacement of the existing roll wrapping machine by a fully automatic, space-saving Twister system with a capacity of 70 rolls/hour. The system will be delivered at the beginning of 2005.

In other Voith news: Sappi has ordered from Voith Paper a LowPack roll wrapping system with upstream and downstream roll conveying system for its Lanaken mill in Belgium. The new installation is fully automatic and designed for 120 rolls/hour. It has a total of 10 unwind stations to wrap rolls of 400 to 3,000 mm width and diameters of 600 to 1,500 mm in one step, and requires only a single operator. The system will be supplied at the end of December 2004.

Also, Spanish paper producer SAICA, Zaragoza, placed an order for the delivery of a new PM 10 with Voith. Just as for PM 9, the order includes the delivery of the stock preparation system and the paper machine, including an automation package. Annual output for PM 10 will be 400,000 tons, and start-up is scheduled for May 2006. Voith will supply the complete stock preparation including disperging, the approach flow as well as the broke pulpers and broke preparation system.

Voith's rebuild of the No. 3 board machine at Stora Enso Packaging Boards Baienfurt, Germany facility is now in successful operation. The scope of supply included the rebuild of the entire press section, with the second press being upgraded into a double-felted NipcoFlex press. A special "highlight" of the rebuild was the first application of NipcoFlex shoe calender technology. The rebuild was accomplished within a three-and-a-half week shutdown; the machine's annual output has increased from 175,000 tons to 210,000 tons.

In April, Weyerhaeuser selected Voith to supply a NipcoFlex shoe calender and a 2-roll EcoSoft calender for the rebuild of the company's board machine 3 in Longview, Washington, USA. The 5.100 mm wide BM 3 produces liquid packaging board with a maximum speed of 500 m/min. The new calenders will replace the original installation comprised of wet and dry stack calenders.