Valmet deal with Naini Papers India

To supply key pulp and paper technologies 

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papers
Valmet to supply key pulp and paper technologies to Naini Papers in India.

Valmet, global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries, will deliver key technologies, automation and services to Naini Papers’ cooking and fiberline rebuild and new specialty paper machine PM 3 at their mill in Kashipur, India.

The delivery will increase the mill’s capacity and support meeting the market demand of specialty coated paper. The delivery is scheduled for the first quarter 2025. 

The order was included in Valmet’s orders received of the second quarter 2023. The value of the order will not be disclosed, but a delivery of this size and scope is typically valued between 40 and 60 million Euros. One Euro to equivalent to Rs 90.06 as per present exchange rates. 

“We have been successfully collaborating with Valmet in many projects, including pulp mills, and decided to choose them again for this rebuild expanding our pulp production capacity. The additional pulp will be used in the upcoming PM 3. We see big potential for specialty coated paper in the Indian market and are eyeing the environment-friendly flexible packaging segment. The paper produced by the PM 3 can replace plastics in packages,” says Pawan Agarwal, managing sirector, Naini Papers.

“We’re delighted that Naini Papers chose Valmet again as the supplier of their project. Our sustainable technologies, references, local presence and trust built through the projects and various pilot trials at the Valmet R&D center were the keys to win the order. India is a growing market for specialty grades and Naini Papers has taken the right step forward to be a leading player in this segment,” says Varun Jain, director, India Region, Asia-Pacific, Valmet.

The delivery

The cooking and fiberline rebuild targets to increase the capacity from the current 300 bone dry tonnes per day (BD t/d) to 370 BD t/d. The delivery includes key process equipment such as a SuperBatch digester, a TwinRoll Press, a bleach plant upgrade, and other auxiliary equipment. Basic engineering, detailed process engineering and site services are included. 

The automation package includes analyzers and measurements for the fiberline, such as Kappa number, brightness, residual chemical, white liquor to cooking and residual alkali, as well as pulp consistency. The spare parts package includes critical spares and consumables for the start-up of the equipment.

The specialty coated paper machine PM 3 is the first-of-its-kind in India, with a design speed of 1200 m/min, producing mainly wood-free coated and uncoated grades with a basis weight range of 40–170 g/m2. The raw material used will be mainly hardwood pulp, with an option to mix bale softwood and precipitated calcium carbonate as filler. The paper machine delivery includes all key technologies from headbox to reel, air systems and winder, as well as Valmet Industrial Internet applications and spare part packages.

Naini Papers, founded in 1995, offers writing and printing papers with improved physical and optical properties. Naini Papers also produces single layer cup stock for the manufacturing of paper cups and saturating kraft for the manufacturing of laminates.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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