$50M paper upgrading

Press, 22 June 1989, Page 33

$50M paper upgrading

The Tasman Pulp and Paper Company is to upgrade the No. 1 paper machine at its Bay of Plenty Mill at a cost of more than $5O million. Tasman’s director of operations, Mr R. K. Purchase, said the upgrading was required both to improve operating efficiency and to match the paper quality needs expected to arise in the next few years from the increasing use of modern printing technology in the company’s major markets. “Tasman is committed to providing top-quality paper for its New Zealand, Australian and Asian customers,” Mr Purchase said. “That commitment has seen more than $BO million spent on paper machine upgrading during the last six years. The upgrading of PMI will build upon those improvements and ensure that Tasman’s entire newsprint output is equal to the best available anywhere in the world.” The development programme includes a conversion to twin-wire forming, the

installation of a new press section and electrical drive and modifications to the dryer section. The new equipment will be pre-assembled and installed during a two-week shutdown late next year. Since its installation in 1955, the No. 1 paper machine has been upgraded several times, lifting its operating speed from an initial 450m/min to the current 625m/min, and boosting annual output by one-third to 80,000 tonnes.

Apart from enhanced sheet formation and surface quality, the latest upgrading will increase the machine speed to 800 m/ min and raise capacity by a further 20,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes a year. Tasman has carried out quality upgrading programmes of a similar magnitude on its Nos. 2 and 3 machines in recent years. “The newsprint sheet produced on those machines is now rated among the best in the world and has made Tasman the preferred supplier to some of the most quality-conscious publishers in Australasia and Asia,” Mr Purchase said.