Ian Melin-Jones
BASF to build new dispersions plant in Durban, South Africa
BASF will invest in a dispersions plant in Durban, South Africa. The new plant will produce acrylic dispersions mainly for the coatings and construction industry. The facility will benefit from local availability of raw materials and proximity to key customers who serve South Africa’s and Sub Saharan Africa’s fast-growing markets. Production is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2012.
South Africa is the largest market for dispersions in Sub-Saharan Africa. “With this new facility, we are well positioned to support our customers’ growth in South Africa and its neighboring countries providing BASF’s quality, service and reliable supply” said Christoph Hansen, Senior Vice President Dispersions for Adhesives and Construction Europe. With its portfolio of specialties, BASF can help customers move towards more environmentally friendly technologies such as reduced Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and products free of alkyl phenol ethoxylate (APEO). This investment reflects BASF’s focus on participating in the strong growth markets in emerging Africa.
Mondi’s digital portfolio was “above par” at Northprint.
Mondi showcased its digital printing papers and invited visitors to practice their putting skills to win a £250 Red Letter Day voucher with the Mondi Digital Golfing Game.
The newly expanded digital printing portfolio from Mondi was presented for the first time in the UK at the Northprint exhibition in Harrogate from 10th-12th May, 2011. Mondi showcased the recently launched DNS® high speed inkjet, alongside other new products including DNS® premium, DNS® indigo, and Color Copy indigo. In addition to these latest digital brands, Mondi also presented industry favourites such as Color Copy, and the ultra eco-friendly NAUTILUS® SuperWhite and BIO TOP 3® digiprint.
“Northprint was an excellent opportunity for us to speak directly with printing professionals and graphic specialists. This is a valuable group of digital print experts and it is important that we keep in touch with their needs and demonstrate how our papers can help them achieve optimal results for specific applications,” commented Johannes Klumpp Marketing and Sales Director, for Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper.
An additional enticing element at the stand, Mondi offered visitors the chance to play Mondi Digital Golfing Game, with the aim for participants to putt 3 balls in 3 holes. Players who successfully completed this challenge were entered into the prize draw to win a £250 Red Letter Day. The draw took place at 3pm on the final exhibition day and the lucky winner was Rees Houghton from Communisis.
Mondi’s broad digital portfolio is suitable for many applications, such as digital print communication, digital print publishing, digital print imaging, transactional, transpromotional and direct mailing. The entire digital printing portfolio is part of the Green Range of FSC®, TCF or 100% recycled papers.
For more information about Mondi’s digital paper portfolio, please visit: www.mondigroup.com/digital
Sonoco Increasing Prices for Paperboard, Tubes and Cores
Sonoco has announced that it would increase the price for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard by $50 per ton and by 5 to 8 percent for tubes and cores, effective with shipments beginning June 6, 2011. The price changes are necessary due to higher base raw materials, chemicals, repair materials and freight costs.
Metso to supply board machine rebuild for Cartones Ponderosa in Mexico
Metso will rebuild the folding boxboard machine at the San Juan del Río mill of Cartones Ponderosa, S.A. de C.V. in Mexico. The start-up of the rebuilt machine is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012. The value of the order will not be disclosed. The order is included in Paper and Fiber Technology’s Q2 2011 orders received.
Metso's delivery will include rebuilds of the coating and drying sections. Drying capacity will be increased with two impingement dryers enabling both a production and a speed increase. Replacing the coating station with a curtain coater and a new coating color supply system will further improve the folding boxboard quality.
Cartones Ponderosa, S.A. de C.V. located in San Juan del Río is the leading producer of coated cardboard in Mexico. The company produces more than 50% of the total Mexican recycled coated board made, and is the only exporter in its field.
Light, compact, fast and accurate - the new Mütek SZP-10 System Zeta Potential
BTG launches Mütek SZP-10, the successor to the widely popular Mütek SZP-06. Like its industry-standard predecessor, it identifies the surface charge of fibers, pigments and other solid materials. It can be used to assess chemical additives such as dispersants, wet strength agents or coatings in a manufacturing process without extensive sample preparation (as is needed for electrophoresis, for example).
The new SZP-10 reflects feedback from our customers - chemical suppliers and R&D labs - with ten years' experience of zeta potential measurements. As a result, the new instrument is as light, compact and fast as zeta potential measuring instruments can get.
Other features which make the Mütek SZP-10 a highly reliable working companion include:
- easy handling with intuitive user guidance significantly reduced size and weight;
- quick, worry-free initialization, with pre-set parameters and automatic pressure difference adjustment;
- fast and highly accurate measurements, with zeta potential results provided within a couple of minutes;
- data transfer via USB stick into Microsoft Excel or directly into BTG software;
- a new, lighter trolley
to mention but a few.
TASOSYSTEM, A GROUNDBREAKING PIONEER
TASOSYSTEM IS A SPECIALIST IN THE PRODUCTION OF MOTION REQUIRING EXCEPTIONAL PRECISION. Our core expertise involves the design and manufacturing of compact electromechanical motion components. We provide strong know-how in problem solving situations and R&D projects.
OUR CLIENTELE IS INTERNATIONAL AND MULTIBRANCHED. We have supplied our demanding customers for almost thirty years already with hundreds of thousands of precision mechanical products, for example for the paper, aviation and pharmaceutical industries around the world. Our goal is a satis ed customer and long-term co-operation.
TASOSYSTEM OY IS PART OF TASOWHEEL GROUP OY, an internationally active technology corporation with Finnish ownership that was established in 1979. Tasowheel Group’s two other subsidiaries are Tasogears Oy and Tasotikka Oy.
TASOSYSTEM DESIGNS, DEVELOPS AND MANUFACTURES ADVANCED ACTUATORS for slice, dilution, coating, moisture and steam adjustment, as well as separate equipment and demanding key components such as special valves and measuring equipment for the paper and other industries. Tasosystem’s adjustment controls ensure the best precision for motion adjustment in extremely demanding conditions.
TASOSYSTEM HAS DEVELOPED THE CENTURIO CONTROL SYSTEM to meet the control and adjustment needs of the process industry. Centurio helps improve production quality, productivity and occupational safety by transferring the
control of equipment to an ef cient remote system.
INTEGRATED TOTAL SOLUTIONS FOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT. We provide effective integrated package solutions for biological and medical research institutes, including devices and gears for optical measurement and x-ray imaging. Tasosystem’s high-quality research equipment is designed and manufactured to ensure the dynamic precision of movement, extremely smooth movements and silent operation.
WE OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS ALWAYS HIGH QUALITY TOTAL SERVICE that encompasses precision and tne mechanical expertise, assembly operations, logistics management, network operations and innovative electromechanical R&D. Our technical production know-how covers precision mechanical motion parts, such as precision gears, worm gears, motion screws and transmissions, as well as the machining of demanding raw materials.
CERTIFIED QUALITY. Tasowheel Group, former Tasowheel Oy, was one of the best Finnish technology industry companies to be certi ed according to the ISO 9001 standard. We produce safe and guaranteed solutions whose effectiveness our customers and co-operation partners can rely on.
RESPONSIBLE SOLUTIONS. In order to meet the challenges of sustainable development, Tasosystem strives to take into consideration economic, social and environmental responsibility in all its operations. Responsibility has always been an integral part of the company’s business and management culture.
Tasowheel Group has been recognised on numerous occasions for its social responsibility and environmental management. Tasowheel Group’s environmental system is certi ed according to the ISO 14001 standard.
WE SEEK TO BE A LEADER IN OUR OWN FIELD. Our demanding customers challenge us to create innovative solutions with long lifetime. Modern production technology and a highly trained workforce are prerequisites for producing high quality comprehensive solutions.
Swedish paper mills can easily save 1- 2.5 million kronor with ABB optimization
Every Swedish krona invested in improved quality can yield 5-10 kronor in payback
For years ABB has offered its optimization service, Paper Machine Fingerprint, to the paper industry. This solution gives papermakers an assessment of their entire production process so mills can precisely identify areas with improvement potential. Based on the ABB diagnosis, the mill obtains appropriate recommendations for improvement, along with an ROI calculation.
“We have seen that a typical paper mill, by implementing the improvement measures that we suggest, can earn 5-10 times the money it costs to implement them via more efficient and optimized paper production,” said Jonas Warnqvist, an ABB process optimization and QCS specialist. “A mid-sized Swedish paper mill can typically save 1-2.5 million kronor, just by improving those areas that we identify through the Fingerprint diagnosis.”
When making the diagnosis ABB assesses every part of the production process, looking for improvement potential from a mechanical as well as a control engineering perspective. The diagnosis may point at process, instrument or automation-related issues. ABB can assess any paper machine, regardless of its automation system.
“We always offer continuous follow-up after the completed diagnosis and implementation, in order to ensure sustained improvements and payback on the customer’s investment,” said Warnqvist.
The Fingerprint diagnosis provides both a basis for future comparisons and analysis of the mill’s performance. The Fingerprint also includes a plan for improvements that identifies the improvement potential and ranks the measures in terms of best saving opportunities. The ROI calculation is a very important tool for showing, in a simple way, how the improvements generate cost savings.
To be capable of performing this fully comprehensive assessment, a company needs to have a deep understanding of the process and of every part of the mill – which is something that ABB has built up through its extensive experience and leading-edge expertise within the paper industry.
ABB's Listening for red flags
A new early-warning system finds problems with large induction motors before disaster can strike.
Motors and generators manufacturer ABB is offering a new condition monitoring service for large induction motors, ABB MACHsense-P, that acts like a skilled doctor with a stethoscope, detecting trouble before it can lead to crisis. The key to its early-warning capabilities is ABB's intelligent software, which analyzes vibrations and other data collected from the motor with remarkable accuracy.
MACHsense-P, based on years-long intensive research, represents a major leap forward. "ABB's analysis system uses algorithms that pick out specific signals," says Cajetan Pinto, R&D Manager for ABB Motors and Generators, Service and Vice President for ABB in Mumbai, India. "If you're concerned about bearings, our system can isolate the signals coming from the bearings itself."
“No one in the past has looked at data the way we do,” explains Pinto. “We recently filed three patents for our methodology.”
Older monitoring systems generated too many errors – both false positives and false negatives. In part, that's because noises from non-essential parts of the motor tended to confuse the readings.
Since May 2010, customers can order the ABB MACHsense-P service in one of two ways: ‘Standard’ service comes as part of a regular six-month maintenance plan, while ‘advanced’ service refers to a one-time intervention to troubleshoot a specific problem. Next year, ABB plans to expand the service from large induction motors to synchronous motors and wind generators.
ABB MACHsense-P can save a customer from major headaches. Pinto recalls, “At a power plant recently, the in-house maintenance team did not detect any defects in its motor bearings – but we picked up defects, and they were verified.”
In fact, more than 60 percent of failures in squirrel-cage motors occur in the bearings. When bearings develop faults, said Pinto, "they can lead to catastrophic failure.”
Besides trouble with bearings, ABB MACHsense-P also detects a wide range of other problems, including rotor winding defects, imbalance, looseness, internal misalignments and voltage abnormalities.
Technicians at ABB service centers in 35 countries are now being trained to use ABB MACHsense-P. “We have gotten very positive responses from our customers so far,” said Pinto. “This service could extend the working life of thousands of motors, running in critical applications worldwide.”
ABB MACHsense-P is only one example from a complete portfolio of services for motors and generators offered by ABB. The service organization has long experience in electrical motors and generators and their applications, enabling it to deliver improved operational availability and life-cycle profitability to ABB’s customers.
ABB MACHsense-P
- Provides accurate diagnosis
- Reports quickly, with a summary delivered on-site
- Includes integrated analysis for current, voltage and vibration
- Rates defects clearly, by severity
- Recommends specific repairs
- Considers machine design in judging defect severity
- Reduces unplanned downtime
Issues early warnings, allowing time for planning maintenance
ABB's Flowmeter with advanced diagnostic functions now on the market
Electromagnetic flowmeter ProcessMaster FEP500 for more precision and safety
ABB introduces the ProcessMaster FEP500, its latest electromagnetic flowmeter for the process industry, to enlarge its well-proven product family. In addition to its enhanced diagnostic information, higher measuring accuracy and explosion protection to ATEX, IEC, FM, CSA and NEPSI, the ProcessMaster FEP500 offers various communication protocols: HART, Profibus PA or FOUNDATION Fieldbus. This allows for comfortable access to all device and process status information.
Using its advanced diagnostic functions, the ProcessMaster FEP500 monitors its own operability, e.g. by detecting gas bubbles or deposits on its electrodes, and your process. Gradual changes are recorded and stored in the device as trends. The integral conductivity monitoring function further extends these possibilities. Access to the status information and trends is obtained via the easy-touse ScanMaster verification and evaluation software that cyclically monitors the measuring values and functionality of the instruments installed.
The determined test results are stored in a database and can be retrieved and printed at any time. Cyclic monitoring of the installed instrumentation is a main customer concern to meet the increasing requirements in terms of quality management and quality auditing. ABB’s ScanMaster is the optimum solution for this challenge.
ProcessMaster FEP300 is the flowmeter with basic functionality. In addition to the high-end electromagnetic flowmeter ProcessMaster FEP500, ABB offers the standard model ProcessMaster FEP300 with basic functionality.
ABB’s ProcessMaster series of flowmeters is successfully used in the chemical, power, water and waste water, oil and gas, pulp and paper, metal and machine construction industries. The instrument design offers the industry’s widest range of sizes, liners, materials and process connections. The ProcessMaster series provides maximum safety and reliability and very short response times. The especially powerful transmitter can be intuitively operated even by inexperienced users, due to its product-spanning operating concept. Additionally, it has a bright, backlit display.
When integrated into an asset management system like the Asset Master from ABB by using the FDT/DTM technology, the ProcessMaster considerably contributes to optimal monitoring of your plant to improve the productivity and profitability and helps you get the most out of your investment over the entire product lifecycle.
ABB launches drive series with integrated safety features
The new drive series is based on a common architecture, specifically designed to simplify the process, increase performance and maximize output.
ABB has developed a new series of drives, ACS880, for low voltage applications. The integrated safety functions minimize the need for external safety components. The new architecture also enables control for practically any AC motor, with information transfer via the most common fieldbus protocols and various remote monitoring solutions.
The new drive series represents the start of a new industrial era, with intuitive control displays that make navigation easy. Many flexible data visualization features help the user analyze the processes. Menus and messages can be customized to correspond to the specific application terminology in question. An integrated USB port makes it easy to connect PC tools.
The PC tool Drive Composer can, from now on, be used for any type of drives. This tool offers fast and effective process commissioning, start-up and monitoring. The control diagrams save users from browsing long lists of parameters and help to set the drive’s logic easily and quickly.
The new integrated safety functions in ABB’s industrial drives – that minimize the need for external safety components, simplify the configuration and reduce the commissioning footprint – could be named a paradigm shift. The safety features include Safe Torque-Off (STO), used for preventing unexpected start-up and solving other stoppage-related issues, as well as Safe Stop 1, Safe Stop Emergency, Safely-Limited Speed, Safe Brake Control and Safe Maximum Speed. ABB’s safety function solution also meets the requirements of the EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.
ABB drives are designed for maximum energy efficiency and productivity. The built-in energy calculators provide essential information, including used and saved kWh and MWh, CO2 reduction and cost savings, that help the user fine tune the processes to ensure optimum energy use.
“This is the largest product launch we will do in ten years. Drives that can reduce energy use by up to 80 percent are attractive to companies throughout the entire Swedish industry, especially within the pulp and paper, steel and mining sectors,” said Lars Lithner, product manager, ABB Svensk Försäljning.
ABB’s proprietary motor control technology DTC (Direct Torque Control) is at the heart of every industrial drive in the ACS880 series. The drives can be customized to suit the specific needs in any industry sector, for example pulp and paper, metal, marine, material handling, mining, cement, energy production, chemical and oil and gas.
ACS880-01 is designed for the control of a broad range of applications, such as extruders, cranes, winches, paper machines, conveyors, mixers, compressors, pumps and fans.