Voith Paper has been awarded a contract by Propapier, a unit of Progroup, to provide a new PM3 paper machine for installation at its facility in Germany.
Image: Officials from Voith and Propapier among others. Photo: courtesy of Progroup AG.
Under the contract, Voith Paper will supply the paper machine that will have an annual capacity of 750,000 tons of containerboard with a working width of 9.20 meters.
Planned to be installed at Propapier’s facility in Sandersdorf-Brehna near Bitterfeld (Saxony-Anhalt), the new paper machine is scheduled to be commissioned in the 2nd half of 2020.
The machine will be used to manufacture corrugating medium and testliner within the grammage range of from 80 to 150 g/m².
Together with the two paper factories PM1 in Burg and PM2 in Eisenhüttenstadt, the Propapier will have total annual production capacity for containerboard of approximately 1,850,000 tones which is an increase from present 1,100,000 tons capacity.
Progroup CEO Jürgen Heindl said: “The economy in Germany is shaped by mechanical and plant engineering on the one hand and a broad base of strong family businesses. It is therefore no surprise that the two family businesses Voith Paper and Progroup have come together to deliver this challenging project.”
Progroup said that the drum pulping, stock preparation, former, press and dryer section, surface application, as well as reeling and reel finishing, from the initial fibre to the finished paper, everything will be optimally coordinated and supplied from a single source.
The construction of the €375m paper machine is expected to create about 140 direct jobs and approximately 350 indirect jobs in the region, depending on the final technical configuration of the machine.
In addition to constructing the paper factory, the firm plans to build a dedicated RDF power plant to supply the new paper machine with steam and electricity in an energy-efficient way.
The firm said that the production facilities are being implemented on a “greenfield” construction plot which covers an area of approximately 450,000m2.
At two locations in Germany, Propapier manufactures corrugated board base papers exclusively on the basis of waste paper. The two facilities ensure that the eight corrugated board plants of Prowell receive a continuous supply of raw materials.