GL&V Sweden AB has modernized the pulper on Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s pulp line, which was originally supplied by Black Clawson. “The success of the project was based on the smooth cooperation between GL&V’s experts and Zuber Rieder’s project personnel. Our earlier experiences with GL&V also served as a foundation for the success of the project. We are extremely happy with the outcome,” states Guillaume Couval, who is responsible for the mill’s maintenance and projects.
Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s image on the paperboard markets is a flexible, independent French company open to the world. “The combination of our values, expertise and industrial equipment makes us stand out from larger companies and gives us a distinctive profile,” reads its website.
Papeterie Zuber Rieder specializes in high-end papers that are sold around the world. The company was founded in the 18th century in Alsace, France, close to the German border. In 1881, the company established a site producing fine papers in Boussières in the department of Doubs, Bourgogne-France-Comte region, in Eastern France.
The width of the paper machine’s wire is 2,140 mm, its speed is 300 m/min and it is used to manufacture various paper products in the grammage range of 72–450 gsm. The small paper machine gives the company a flexible approach to production. The company manufactures small quantities derived from its standard offering or fully customized papers combined with specific paper processing and finishing services. The key product groups are packaging, labels, luxury print products and office and technical papers. Many products, and in particular label papers, are very demanding due to the copious further processing requirements related to them.
“Our paper machine is narrow, which enables the creation of numerous types of end products for a multitude of end uses. The quality of the products is important to both us and our customers. This is why we try to focus on special requirements and narrow market segments. Our end products must always meet the premium standard,” says Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s Export Market Manager Vincent Thieffry. “Our concept is based on customer flexibility, quality and both our innovations and those of the customer. Our markets lie in North America, Asia, Europe and, of course, France.”
Papeterie Zuber Rieder says that it constantly revamps its production process in order to expand its offering. Its latest investment was the modernization of its pulp processing. Zuber Rieder selected GL&V Sweden AB, known for its advanced modernizations of pulpers, as the project’s implementer and its technology partner.
The final objective of the project was to increase the operating speed and production volumes of the board machine, as the capacity of the old line was not sufficient. Short fiber pulper was seen as a bottleneck.
“Our old pulp line was unable to produce enough pulp for our future requirements, so we contacted GL&V France’s expert in order to raise the capacity of the short fiber line’s pulper. The line also processes broke from the paper machine. We wished to increase the volume of those broke and wet-strength paper used on the line,” says Guillaume Couval, who is responsible for the mill’s maintenance and projects.
“We modernized the pulper on Papeterie Zuber Rieder’s pulper line, which was originally supplied by Black Clawson,” says GL&V Sweden AB’s French representative Pierre-Michel Salles.
GL&V supplied a new, more efficient rotor, and a screen plate. Additionally they supplied manufacturing drawings for new flow deflectors in pulper vat. Customer manufactured new deflectors and purchased a new more powerful motor and installed all parts according to our instructions. Customer also took care of measuring existing dimensions for designing the new parts. Zuber Rieder replaced PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) for the pulper, and operation sequences were optimized based on GLV`s recommendations.
