Voith breaks ground on a multi-million-dollar expansion of West Monroe, Louisiana roll service center also in news Voith successfully rebuilds Stora Enso’s PM 6 into the largest XcelLine board machine in Europe.
Voith breaks ground on a multi-million-dollar expansion of West Monroe, Louisiana roll service center
- The size of the Voith roll service center will increase by almost 50%.
- As a result of the investment, Voith has already begun expanding its workforce in West Monroe, Louisiana.
- Expanding the operational capacity of this location will allow Voith to better meet customer needs throughout North America.
On Sept. 10, 2025,Voith broke ground on a multi-million-dollar project that will expand and modernize its roll service center in West Monroe, Louisiana – adding more than 20 new jobs and supporting the local economy.
“Today we broke ground on a project that demonstrates our commitment to listening and responding to our customers’ needs for mechanical roll service and the roll cover business,” said David Buchanan, President FRS North America, Voith Paper. “This expansion means that our growing team in West Monroe, Louisiana will have the operational capacity to better serve paper producers throughout North America.”
In addition to expanding capacity, the investment into the facility will enhance logistical processes, supporting a faster and more seamless service experience for Voith customers. The size of the roll service center will increase by almost 50% – adding workspace as well as a dedicated training center to support the critical hands-on training of skilled trade experts in the industry.
The Voith facility offers a wide variety of roll services for customers who are in the papermaking industry. Services offered include operations and optimization of products; mechanical roll services such as rebuilds, grinding, balance and vibration analysis; roll coverings; roll and part replacements, as well as spreader roll rebuilds and repairs.
“This expansion is allowing us to increase our workforce by adding more than 20 jobs right here in West Monroe,” said Jeff Berg, Chief Operation Officer FRS, Voith Paper. “We have already started hiring, and we are actively filling key positions such as machinists, a drill operator, mechanics/millwrights, engineers, and a production scheduler. Voith is growing in West Monroe, Louisiana.”
The groundbreaking marks Voith Paper’s largest, most recent investment in North America. The project is expected to continue through the middle of 2026, and the Voith roll service center will remain fully operational throughout construction.
Contact: Natonia Samchuck, Regional Group Communications Manager, North America, Voith US Inc. Tel +1 717 792 7095 Mobile +1 717 501 8670 Natonia.Samchuck@voith.com – www.voith.com
Voith successfully rebuilds Stora Enso’s PM 6 into the largest XcelLine board machine in Europe
- The rebuild will enable a production capacity of 750,000 tons of high-quality coated primary fiber board annually – a new record in Europe.
- A prerequisite for the successful completion of the project was an intensive preliminary project in which, among other things, the reusability of the parts was examined.
- A very trusting cooperation between local and global teams and the customer ensured the success of the project.
Voith, the leading full-line supplier, has successfully completed the PM 6 rebuild project for Stora Enso in the northern-most university city in Europe, Oulu in northern Finland. The modernized plant will now achieve an impressive annual capacity of 750,000 tons of high-quality folding boxboard and coated kraft back (CKB), at a wire width of 9,000 mm.
It was important to Stora Enso that the rebuilt line offers optimal production efficiency while also meeting the highest environmental standards, in particular with regard to excellent heat recovery. The rebuilt plant has enabled the company to achieve the highest production capacity in Europe for high-quality packaging made from folding boxboard and CKB, thereby setting a new record.
“Thanks to Voith Paper’s expertise, we are now able to produce an impressive 750,000 tons of high-quality coated primary fiber board,” said Matti Lielahti, Mill Manager at Stora Enso in Oulu. “We are very satisfied with our collaboration with Voith, and with this project, we have once again seen how valuable a long-term and trusting partnership can be. After the PM 6 production line had been out of operation for several years, the new XcelLine is opening up new market opportunities for us and strengthening our position.”
“We are very proud to have helped Stora Enso achieve this record through our customized XcelLine solution and a very good partnership,” emphasizes Ralf Sorg, President of the Projects Division at Voith Paper. “The modernized PM 6 enables high efficiency increases with low maintenance requirements, for the fastest possible ROI.”
Tailor-made solution for maximum efficiency and sustainability
Voith was able to tailor the system to the needs and circumstances of Stora Enso. This made it possible to achieve the high production volume with maximum efficiency and sustainability.
The scope of supply includes all key components of a Voith XcelLine paper machine, including headbox, wire, press and dryer sections, coating units and reel. In addition to a three-layer wire section with the DuoFormer D II, Voith experts integrated the high-performance Triple NipcoFlex shoe press concept, which enables maximum production output at the highest quality level. At the same time, the efficient technology minimizes specific energy and production costs.
The plant also features a SpeedSizer system and four DynaCoat AT coating units with JetFlow F applicators, which ensure maximum flexibility and optimal product quality. The SpeedSizer and the DynaCoat AT are partially made of carbon fibers to ensure stable cross-sectional profiles for all types and speeds. Voith also installed the volume-preserving EcoCal HiBulk calender, which ensures excellent stiffness, outstanding smoothness and printability.
“The completion of this project marks a significant milestone for Voith Paper and our partnership with Stora Enso,” says Matthias Laubenberger, project manager at Voith Paper. “We are very proud to have completed the largest rebuild in Europe on schedule. The close cooperation between our teams in Heidenheim and Finland ensured a smooth and efficient rebuild.”
Integration of industrial design – aesthetics meet functionality
As part of the project, the existing dryer hood was also extensively redesigned. The high operating dew point of up to 65°C in the new EcoHood 65 dryer hood reduces the volume of supply and exhaust air, thus reducing steam and electricity consumption. The new industrial design of the drying hood, including an innovative LED color display, ideally combines functionality and aesthetics and is a step towards Voith’s innovative design concept Papermaking Vision.
The CombiDuoRun drying concept efficiently dries the paper web on both sides, thereby preventing curl, even at high operating speeds. Finally, two VariFlex Performance winders will be used. Stora Enso is also taking advantage of Voith’s leading digitalization and automation portfolio and will now have the OnControl.Machine MCS for the board machine automation, OnQuality quality control system and OnCare.Health condition monitoring solution. The dataPARC cloud will serve as the IIoT platform.
Four sets of paper machine fabrics and the complete doctor blades are also included in the scope of supply. To ensure that the Oulu team can operate the paper machine efficiently in the individual sections in the future, mill personnel received comprehensive training in the closure of dry fabric seams, retraction of shoe press sleeves, press felts and forming fabrics. Exceptional 24/7 support was provided for a total of 10 weeks. Initial findings for further optimization have already been obtained through measurements on the paper machine while it was running.
Global expertise with local presence
The Voith team combined global and local expertise to offer Stora Enso a reliable solution tailored to its needs. As part of a support agreement, the local Voith team will continue to be present at the Oulu plant to implement further optimization measures.
“Our collaboration with the Stora Enso team will continue even after the project is completed. The support agreement enables us to provide Stora Enso with ideal and reliable support in the early days,” confirms Juha Behm, Director P&S at Voith Paper Finland. “After that, our service will continue to ensure the best possible performance of the XcelLine.”
The successful project execution demonstrates Voith’s reliability as a leading full-line supplier and commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation. Voith will continue to be a reliable partner for its customers in the future, providing innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable paper manufacturing from a single source.
Contact: Niklas Dworschak, Voith Group, Manager Global Communication Voith Paper, Global Communications Voith Paper – zc, Group Division Paper, Division VP Other, niklas.dworschak@voith.com – www.voith.com
About Stora Enso
As part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products for packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction and paper, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. The company believes that everything made from fossil materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has some 22,000 employees and in 2022 net sales totalled EUR 11.7 billion. Stora Enso’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm AB (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY). More information is available at: www.storaenso.com/en
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. Founded in 1867, Voith today has around 22,000 employees, sales of € 5.2 billion and locations in over 60 countries worldwide and thus is 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 integrated solutions from a single source. The company’s continuous stream of innovations facilitates resource-conserving production and supports customers in significantly reducing their carbon footprint. With its comprehensive automation products and leading digitalization solutions from the Papermaking 4.0 portfolio, Voith offers its customers state-of-the-art digital technologies to improve the availability and efficiency of their systems in all sections of the production process.
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