PRESS 9802
21st Century technology for the world's largest single machine is ahead of schedule &endash; an 'advanced technology summit conference' provided the insights
Ten years ago, Valmet Corporation (now Metso) set out to design the 21st century "Super Paper Machine." The speed of the resulting next generation machine, and the speed of its entire development process, broke all records.Papermaking, like so many other global industries, has become fiercely competitive and papermakers such as Champion International, James River, International Paper and Weyerhaeuser need faster speeds and reduced costs, in many cases, just to survive.
In mid 1988, a team of technologists of Finnish-based Valmet Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of papermaking machines, organized a top secret R&D program to design the "Super Paper Machine" -- a machine that would run at much faster speeds, with higher efficiencies and greater reliability than today's machines... and at reduced investment levels for papermakers. Valmet wanted to accomplish this goal within 10 years, as opposed to the 20 year machine redesign cycle that had been the industry norm. Considering the enormity of the task, and the hundreds of thousands of components that comprise the world's largest single machine, this was a considerable challenge.
Committed to paper, and firmly believing that a "paperless society" will not come to pass anytime soon (as formerly predicted by some futurists looking at increasing use of personal computers, advanced plastics and other materials and processes threatening to displace paper), Valmet committed significant resources to the program. Their goal was to significantly improve the paper manufacturing process while reducing its cost. Many types of paper would be impacted by the results of their effort, including paper for newspapers, copy machines, bathroom tissue, glossy magazines, grocery bags, cardboard boxes and many others. Valmet set out to develop the paper machine technology for the 21st century... the "Super Paper Machine." To do this, it was clear they needed to advance the state-of-the-art, which Valmet itself practiced and for which it was, and still is, world renowned.
The task was divided into separate development programs, each addressing one of the key sections of a typical papermaking machine which is as long as a football field and three stories high.
It was agreed that significant innovations would need to be invented and that technology transfer would likely play an important role in the effort. That is,
transferring and adapting technologies from other industries to the very special requirements found on a papermaking machine. Technology transfer can often represent a much more cost-effective approach to development since it borrows from a body of knowledge and experience already in place and paid for!
The drying section was targeted for a particularly high level of innovation since it is the key speed limiter in the entire papermaking process. To identify and access new technologies, Valmet sought the assistance of ISIS International, Inc. of Monroe, Connecticut in the United States, known for its unique approach to technology transfer and commercialization which involves participation of world-class technologists in a Summit Conference-like setting. This form of ISIS Summit functions as a super think tank and is an integral part of ISIS' market-driven development system.
For participation in the Summit Conference, leading technologists and industrialists were recruited from fields as diverse as food processing, coatings, photographic processing, printing, aerospace, electronics, acoustics, chemical processing, radiation technologies, mechanics, freeze drying, pharmaceutical processing and others. None of the Industrial Opinion Leaders, as ISIS calls them, had ever had direct experience with papermaking. "That was an essential criterion for participation," says Richard A. Siegel, president of ISIS, "we needed this multidisciplinary technology team to freely explore technology transfer possibilities without any initial bias or preconceived notions about what might or might not work." It turns out that the Summit approach to technology transfer and innovation was successful for Valmet. Air impingement and super-heated steam drying, targeted by Summit Panelists in 1988 as a new way to dry paper as it's being made, was successfully transferred to the paper machine and papermakers are now reaping the benefits.
According to Mikko Karvinen, vice president of R&D for Valmet's Paper Machinery Division, "a prototype of the new JET-RUN drying section (as Valmet calls it) was tested at VTT (Finland's prestigious State Institute for Technology Research) before incorporating it into the new pilot machine now in operation at our Jyväskylä facility. The pilot has demonstrated speeds in excess of 2000 meters/minute, and speeds up to and beyond 2500 meters/minute (93 miles per hour) appear feasible." "That's very significant," says Siegel, "these enormous machines were operating at up to 1500 meters/minute when we launched the program. This achievement will result in tremendous benefits for the papermaking industry and for large paper users."
In addition to its record breaking speeds, Valmet's next generation paper machine, incorporating the new JET-RUN drying section has demonstrated "successful runnability with higher efficiency and reliability than the previous generation machines," says Karvinen, "both extremely critical factors in this industry." Commercial scale machines employing this and other new designs resulting from the bold effort launched in 1988 are now being introduced to the global papermaking industry.
"Technology transfer and advancing the state-of-the-art in an industry or area of technology, while challenging, is a process that can be managed," says Siegel. "It involves a highly disciplined approach to innovation and creativity. But most of all, it requires commitment, perseverance and patience from all involved. The Valmet development team had an open mind and was determined to thoroughly explore the technology transfer directions conceptualized by the Summit Panelists." After work was completed in early '89, the Valmet technologists began to evaluate the Summit-generated ideas for technical and economic feasibility. Once they targeted the winning approach, Valmet engineers developed prototypes and began a laborious process of testing, verifying, and reverifying before building the pilot drying section. Considering that significant changes to the design of paper machines have historically occurred very slowly, in this case, development, testing, manufacturing and market introduction of the new drying section, and the entire next generation machine, has shattered all speed records.
Valmet/Metso is the world's largest supplier of paper and board machines and related process control. Pilot machines employing new technology and design approaches for making printing papers, tissue and board, and for paper coatings, are in operation in several locations in Finland and Sweden. Valmet's 1997 net sales totaled US $2.2 billion and it employed approximately 13,000 people, of whom one third worked outside Finland. Metso's shares are traded on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges and its net sales in 2002 were Euro 4.6 billion.
ISIS International, Inc. provides specialized technology commercialization, technology transfer and new business strategy development services to technology-based companies in North America and Europe. Its services involve the participation of international Industry and Technology Opinion Leaders in its proprietary Summit Business Development and MarketDiscovery technology development systems.
