At its Curitibanos paper mill in Santa Catarina state in Brazil, Marombas Papéis produces what is called ‘Paraná’ paperboard, a rigid multi-layered board used both for packaging and for making disposable plates and trays. The main raw materials are wood fibers, coming from sustainably grown forests, and recycled fibers from pre-consumer paperboard cuttings that are sourced locally.
Recently Marombas installed a brand-new recycling plant for processing 8,000 tons per year of paper cuttings into usable pulp that goes into the Paraná paperboard. When considering the energy intensive stock preparation and fiber refining stage of the new recycling plant, the mill realized it could achieve significant cost advantages by using modern digitalized automation solutions. The idea was to use the latest advances in smart motor control and process automation to make the stock preparation stage extremely energy efficient, to save both money and carbon emissions.
To proceed, Marombas Papéis selected SR Automação, a Brazilian systems integrator and an ABB partner, to design and integrate the project. SR Automação is highly specialized in design, consulting, and implementation of automation solutions for pulp and paper mills, with decades-long experience in the industry. Therefore SR handled everything from component selection and panel assembly to programming and plant startup, and it was also responsible for ensuring that the new digital tools communicated effectively with the factory's existing electromechanical equipment. In addition, SR provided operational assistance and training of Marombas staff on the new system.
Energy saving and reliable operation were primary goals
In the planning phase, after analyzing the process and surveying possible equipment options, SR Automação decided in cooperation with Marombas that ABB's variable speed drives (sometimes also called variable frequency drives or frequency converters), as well as its automation systems, and electrification products were the best solutions to help the mill management reach its energy and reliability goals. To accomplish this, the following ABB products were used for the new stock preparation and refining line:
- 11 ABB ACS580 and 8 ACS380 variable speed drives for high-precision motor control, instead of traditional fixed-speed DOL (direct-on-line) systems. The drives adjust motor speeds based on real-time demand, to get the desired energy savings and reduced operational costs.
- ABB AC500 V3 PM5630 PLC was used to centralize and automate the pulp preparation logic. It included a complete suite of I/O cards for efficient signal processing and versatile fieldbus connectivity.
- PRO CP6610 HMI with intuitive navigation and easy operation interface, allowing operators to monitor and adjust the line more accurately.
- ABB System Pro E Power panels ensuring safety compliance and efficient electrical assembly.
Paola Sardá, the Operations Manager at SR Automação, explains the thinking behind their selection of ABB equipment.
"We were aware that Marombas, like many of our clients, had budget limits for this project. Our aim was to find the most cost-effective technologies, considering both the initial investment and the medium- and long-term energy savings. So we wanted the most reliable equipment that could give the big energy efficiency gains we were seeking. For this, ABB's variable speed drives and associated solutions showed the greatest potential, since we know that their automation and electrification products have the proven quality we needed to give the paper mill reliable and uninterrupted operation."
Meeting today’s energy challenges and being prepared for tomorrow’s
According to Georges Hanasi, ABB’s Motion division Paper and Pulp segment manager in Brazil, energy efficiency projects like this are important to help ensure long-term competitiveness and sustainability in all pulp and paper mills, both large and small.
"The pulp & paper sector is a strategic one for ABB not only because of the industry’s economic size but also because of the many opportunities it offers to install our innovative solutions to get big gains in sustainability and energy efficiency in any mill. Projects like Marombas Papéis show how technology can make industrial processes smarter, safer, and more sustainable. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to supporting the Brazilian industry with cutting-edge solutions that boost their productivity and reduce environmental impact, so they can meet today's challenges and be prepared for tomorrow's.”
The 35% energy savings calculation
The 35% energy saving data comes from the reports generated by the SR Automação team and analysed together with Valdir Nazário, Production Manager at Marombas Papéis. It is important to highlight that in this project no equipment replacements were made – the stock prep line is an entirely new plant. Thus, the energy efficiency calculation is based solely on information collected from two groups of ABB components: The CCM Circuit Breaker EMAX 2, equipped with integrated quantitative and qualitative energy measurement functions and communication via PROFINET protocol & the ACS380 and ACS580 drives, on a PROFINET network.
The efficiency calculation compares the baseline energy consumption that the motors would require at full speed without drives against the actual energy drawn from the grid – using ABB’s ACS drives and EMAX 2 circuit breakers.
As an example, in August 2025, the process work delivered by the motors was equivalent to 123.3 MWh under conventional fixed-speed operation. However, thanks to the dynamic speed control of the ABB drives, the actual energy drawn from the grid was only 79.7 MWh. This reduction from the baseline represents a 35% energy savings for the mill.
A big technological leap
Before the new line was installed, the mill had most of their old processes running with no data acquisition, mainly using manual interaction for control. And much energy was wasted since motors were running DOL, instead of using drives to adjust speeds to meet actual real-time demands.
Now with the new ABB system Marombas gets motor speeds that are based on actual demand. It also has real-time monitoring, effective asset control, predictive maintenance analysis, and advanced report generation for a wide variety of process parameters on the recycling line. These capabilities directly contribute to lower costs, higher uptime, reduced CO₂ emissions, and overall optimized production.
"The new plant has meant a big technological leap for our operation,” says Valdir Nazário, Production Manager at Marombas Papéis. “With ABB's supervision and control equipment, we have increased plant reliability, reduced failures, and optimized all the processes. This means we now operate with greater safety and energy efficiency, giving us benefits in both our operational costs and our sustainability achievements."
Pulp and paper mills can do much more to save electrical energy
Even though the use of VSDs (variable speed drives) in Pulp & Paper has increased during the last 40+ years, it is estimated that 30-40% of the installed asynchronous motors are still running with a direct-on-line (DOL) connection in the P&P industry. This is a big waste of energy and money.
To accurately estimate the potential for significant energy savings that ABB motors and VSD solutions can give to a mill, ABB offers energy appraisals for pulp and paper operations. In addition, if the drives, motors and applications are connected using ABB’s ABB Ability™ Digital Powertrain intelligent eco-system, additional gains in efficient and reliable operation often result.
For a more detailed description of the key components that are being used in this project at Marombas please click on the specific links below.
