Achieving World Class Lubrication at SAPPI Fine Paper

摘要

A 26% increase in plant output without significant increases in maintenance and operational costs! Process improvements of this magnitude are what every manufacturer is searching for, and SAPPI Fine Paper in Cloquet, Minnesota has done it. Equipment reliability is of critical importance to the ongoing profitability and productivity of paper manufacturing operations. At this facility, reliability has been dramatically increased through the implementation of effective process improvements and strategic fluid conditioning upgrades. Paper Machine 12 went on-line in 1988. Process and equipment enhancements since 2000 have made impressive and sustainable improvements to the overall fluid condition, reducing moisture and particulate contamination by more than 90%. Looking forward, these improvements will lead toward improved equipment reliability and reduced rates of wear. Ultimately, this will result in increased throughput, sales and substantial operational savings. Prior to the upgrades, the output of PM12 was 117,000 tons/year. The mill output for 2005 is projected to reach 148,000 tons, 86% of maximum capacity. To achieve this substantial increase in throughput, it was necessary to replace a press section of the machine to eliminate a chronic bottleneck. Since the upgraded machine would be operating at significantly higher rates, it was considered crucial to ensure that significant fluid quality and reliability improvements were achieved at the same time.