Major Asian paper mill increases control system utilization with ABB Ability™ Collaborative Operations

A Southeast Asian paper mill has 13 paper machines, which creates significant production complexity. They rely on ABB to continually update equipment, keep productivity high, maintain predictable service costs and improve process performance.

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Challenge

Fine paper and stationery are made to exacting standards of quality and thickness. The pulp stock used to create this fine paper and stationery represents a unique challenge for the paper mill, as the media is thick and sticky. Mill managers must constantly measure, monitor and amend the performance of each paper machine. 

ABB Solution

This major Southeast Asian paper manufacturer, known for using leading edge technology to produce a wide range of high quality pulp and paper products, chose ABB Ability™ Collaborative Operations to optimize operations, increase equipment availability and reduce paper quality variation. These improvements lead to better product quality and consistency, fewer rejects and more sales.

ABB Ability™ Collaborative Operations connects people in production facilities and enterprise headquarters to ABB’s technology and expertise. It sets up both customers and ABB with remote monitoring and predictive analysis technologies to ensure safety and security, increase productivity and improve operational efficiency

Automating production requires processing large amounts of data. As complexity increases, so does the volume of data. Collaborative Operations helps paper producers make productive use of this data to identify and address production, quality and cost issues that can inhibit peak performance. This improves return on capital.

Collaborative Operations helps to maximize business value by turning data insights into direct action. At the mill, Collaborative Operations is reducing cycle times on product grade changes, resulting in higher production. It is also stabilizing moisture as well as additive levels using multivariable predictive controls. Specific improvements include increased production due to higher equipment availability, fewer sheet breaks, lower chemical costs and reduced paper quality variation.

Main facts

Customer Southeast Asian paper mill
Customer needs
  • Keep productivity high
  • Maintain predictable service costs
  • Improve process performance

Solutions
Benefits
  • Increased production
  • Reduced chemical costs
  • Increased equipment availability
  • Reduced sheets breaks and unplanned downtime
  • Accelerated grade changes
  • Reduced ash MDL variation, leading to more saleable product
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Because of ABB Ability™ Collaborative Operations, the mill was able to reduce time to complete bump tests by 70% and reduce overall loop tuning effort by 75%.

Results

  • Increased production
  • Reduced chemical costs
  • Increased equipment availability
  • Reduced sheets breaks and unplanned downtime
  • Accelerated grade changes
  • Reduced time to complete bump tests by 70 percent
  • Reduced overall loop tuning effort by 75 percent
  • Reduced ash MDL variation, leading to more saleable product

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