Competitive and surviving

Pulp & Paper, Aug 2005 by Rodden, Graeme

Papier Masson is the preferred newsprint supplier of more than 50% of its customers and the goal is to raise that to 100%, says CEO Andre Legault

SINCE PAPIER MASSON took over the former James Maclaren mill in Masson, Que., in 1998, adding a new thermomechanical pulp (TMP) plant, work has centered on fulfilling the mill's potential. Continuing Maclaren's pioneering tradition, Papier Masson was the first single pulping line, single paper machine mill.

The newsprint mill was also the first to install a Beloit Bel Baie III paper machine in the late 1980s. Originally designed at 225,000 mtpy, the production target for 2005 is 234,000 mtpy, according to company's president and CEO Andre Legault, this despite weak newsprint markets in North America. That works out to a production rate of 650 mtpd. The machine is running at 1,250 mpm.

The mill makes standard newsprint, 48.8 gsm with some 45 gsm. The latter accounts for about 10% of production but Legault feels that it could go as high as 25% in the future. "Customers are continuously looking at ways to lower their consumption. What they're doing is looking at lower basis weights, narrower paper widths. Some of them are going from a broadsheet to the tabloid format."

Designed at 740 mtpd, the Metso Paper TMP line (CD 82 refiners) can now be ramped up to 750-760 tonnes on "certain days," says Legault. At one point, Papier Masson spoke about hitting 800 mtpd, but this has not yet been achieved. Although it started out using a small percentage of DIP in the furnish after the TMP plant started, the mill has used a 100% TMP furnish for more than two years.

Legault notes that Stora Enso's Port Hawkesbury, N.S., mill started up a new TMP line in 2004. It features a three-stage process that has no rejects refining. It also has CD 82 refiners. Legault explains that Port Hawkesbury has a low rejects rate, about 5%. The rejects are put through ConFlo refiners. "We're rather interested in that because the quality seems to be equivalent or maybe even better."

At present, Papier Masson is only studying this possibility, but would like to learn more and the mill has had discussions with Metso.

To go to a three-stage system at Masson would mean bolstering the feed screws, but it will allow the mill to increase pulp making capacity to 900-1,000 mtpd. Legault is quick to emphasize that the mill does need the extra capacity. However, it would open the door for discussions with the electric utility to look at load sharing (off peak power). That's even more preliminary than the concept of rejects refining but that's what Legault sees as a possible advantage.

One area where the mill has made significant changes is the paper machine. Speed has been increased by 70 mpm, mostly by spending "a lot of capital" in the drying section. Blowboxes were added to the existing single tier drying section. The Unirun concept was extended into the third section. This resulted in better sheet stability (less sheet flutter) and improved control of the draws. The mill is now running at more than 90% efficiency year to date.

In conjunction with this, optimization work was done on the winder to ensure it could keep up with the faster paper machine. Originally a trouble spot when the machine was first installed, the winder was rebuilt about five years ago. A lot of time has been spent with the maintenance and operating crews. To ensure a high throughput and speedy resolutions to problems, the position of winder coordinator was created a couple of years ago.

On the TMP side, since installation, the mill has done a lot of work with PacSim on multi-variable control on the refining line. "It has paid dividends in terms of stability. It gives us that higher production rate," adds Legault. "Just recently, we did some work on the reject refiner with PAPRICAN and we were able to improve stability, reduce power consumption and increase pulp strength.

"All those things have really led to an increase in the quality of the product in terms of strength and printability, not that they were negatives before," Legault is quick to add, "but we've even improved a bit more. That's translated into very good customer acceptance. Right now, we're the preferred sheet and supplier of over 50% of our customers."

The goal is 100%. Although the machines and processes are important, Papier Masson has also revamped its customer service and inside sales to be more responsive. This means more follow-up with the clients on issues such as transport, delivery, orders, customer satisfaction. "We've taken customer feedback right back to the crews on the winder and machine," Legault says.

Low cost fiber

Aspen makes up about 7-8% of the furnish taken as an annual average. More aspen is used in the summer. It is strictly a cost issue, being a cheaper fiber. But, it is not as strong as black spruce or balsam and at that level, it has no effect on quality.

As the first of the single line mills (Pulp & Paper, June 2005, p. 28), did Papier Masson see itself as the leader of the pack at the time? "We saw it as a calculated risk," explains Legault. "We saw it as the wave of the future. I guess we were the first ones into it."