Operational reliability and efficiency of Metsä Fibre's bioproduct mill's production ensured with Metso's valve solutions and maintenance services

Operational reliability and efficiency of Metsä Fibre's bioproduct mill's production ensured with Metso's valve solutions and maintenance services

Metso Corporation's press release on April 20, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. EEST

Preparations for the start-up of Metsä Fibre's next-generation bioproduct mill are currently under way in Äänekoski, Finland. Start-up is scheduled for late summer. In 2015 Metso was selected as the main supplier of the bioproduct mill's valve solutions. Metsä Fibre and Metso have worked in close collaboration to select the technically and economically optimal valve solutions to keep all the mill's processes operating reliably. Metso has supplied the customer with about 3,000 valves and related devices and has also signed agreements on comprehensive maintenance and spare parts services. The total order is one of Metso's largest valve orders in Finland.

"Metso not only has strong expertise in selecting valve solutions to meet the requirements of pulp mill processes, it also has a wide product selection as well as tried and true, reliable solutions for flow control," says Timo Merikallio, Project Director, Bioproduct Mill Project, Metsä Fibre. 
                       
Excellence in the operational reliability of valves, actuators, and positioners is a key factor in ensuring trouble-free production. "The collaboration between the equipment and process suppliers must be seamless; the operating experiences of the parties have been utilized during technical specifications. In terms of the process control needs, the valves must operate in the optimal operating range so that we can achieve the desired production efficiency targets," Merikallio emphasizes.

Under the latest order signed with Metsä Fibre for spare parts services, spare parts inventory for all essential valves will be available in the mill's warehouse. The bioproduct mill service agreement is appended to the service agreement between Metso and Metsä Fibre.

"To ensure cost-efficient spare parts and maintenance service solutions, for us it is very important that the spare parts and maintenance services and the availability of a maintenance expert are secured. In the preparation for annual outages, we also intend to utilize the valve manufacturer's experience in the planning of correctly-timed maintenance of valves and the related devices," Merikallio notes.