• The advanced process control system OnEfficiency.Strength has now been put into operation at the Hoya, Germany, site after a short installation period
• The solution from the Papermaking 4.0 portfolio ensures lower starch consumption, leading to significant cost savings and more stable paper quality
• The successful installation is a result of the strong cooperation between Voith and Smurfit Kappa and another important step towards more sustainable and efficient paper production with digital applications

Voith’s digital solution package OnEfficiency.Strength, installed at Smurfit Kappa’s Hoya mill in Lower Saxony in 2021, is showing very positive results from the first day. With virtual sensors and predictive control, OnEfficiency.Strength reduces the amount of starch applied while maintaining defined quality standards – a step that is leading to significantly lower costs and more sustainable paper production. The Hoya project is representative of how the two companies Voith and Smurfit Kappa are working together to drive digital transformation in the paper industry.

“We chose Voith’s digital solution approach because it offers significant cost savings with the latest technologies and pays for itself in less than a year,” says Gerold Buck, Manager Operations at Smurfit Kappa Hoya. “With the implementation of OnEfficiency.Strength, we are successfully continuing our innovation and digitalization strategy while paying towards our sustainability goals.” 

In the first step, Voith had conducted a value-add assessment that identified optimization potential and significant cost reductions for production with the help of digital technologies. Subsequently, Voith experts analyzed all relevant process, laboratory and production data from the last few months, checked for anomalies and defined a control concept based on this. For smooth data exchange and efficient commissioning, the plant was also connected to the Voith OnCumulus Cloud. In addition, the personnel received training at an early stage in order to operate the application optimally. After the quick installation and start-up, OnEfficiency.Strength immediately showed potential savings in starch application.

“Due to rising raw material prices and highly competitive pressure, paper manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to further optimize their production facilities and save costs – digital solutions can make a valuable contribution here,” says Maria Knauer, Global Product Manager Efficiency Solutions at Voith. “OnEfficiency.Strength continuously monitors all relevant quality parameters during the manufacturing process and automatically regulates the appropriate settings. Smurfit Kappa thus saves costs and resources in production every day in a simple and automated way. We see great potential to integrate OnEfficiency.Strength at many more plants worldwide.” Smurfit Kappa is also considering installing the digital solution from the Papermaking 4.0 portfolio at other sites based on the results of OnEfficiency.Strength at Hoya.

With the “PAPER IS ON” campaign, Voith highlights the focus topics of the Papermaking 4.0 digital product portfolio: full-line supplier, efficiency, sustainability, cloud solutions, automation and innovation. Learn more and visit our homepage: voith.com/PaperIsOn.

About Smurfit Kappa
Smurfit Kappa, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with approximately 46,000 employees in over 350 production sites across 36 countries and with revenue of €8.5 billion in 2020. The company is located in 23 countries in Europe, and 13 in the Americas. Smurfit Kappa’s products are produced from 100% renewable energy, improving customers’ environmental footprint.

Contact
Naomi Keitel
Jr. Global Communication Manager Voith Paper
Tel. +49 7321 37 2209
Naomi.Keitel@Voith.com

About the Voith Group
The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith sets standards in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive. Founded in 1867, the company today has around 20,000 employees, sales of € 4.3 billion and locations in over 60 countries worldwide and is thus one of the larger family-owned companies in Europe.

The Group Division Voith Paper is part of the Voith Group. As the full-line supplier to the paper industry, it provides the largest range of technologies, services and products on the market and offers paper manufacturers holistic solutions from a single source. The company’s continuous stream of innovations facilitates resource-conserving production and helps customers minimize their carbon footprint. With its leading automation products and digitalization solutions from the Papermaking 4.0 portfolio, Voith offers its customers state-of-the-art digital technologies to improve plant availability and efficiency for all sections of the production process.

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