4/2009

Let's save energy!

There are some things that you don't have to be a clairvoyant to predict: energy is expensive today and will be even more expensive in the future. A lot more expensive.

On paper and board machines there is continuous discussion on whether correct fabric choice could reduce power consumption. This summer we got a good example from a board maker in Western Europe. We were a new supplier to this mill and considered what kind of press felt would be better than their existing felts, and would yield the best possible advantage for this customer making high-quality folding boxboard.

Our choice was the non-woven base Aquamaster 2417X with Tamfelt-developed TMO surface treatment.

The end result was interesting: In this bottom position, the customer had never seen nip dewatering. Now they did, and a lot of it! At the same time, the dry content after the press went up so that they could lower the temperature of the first dryer cylinders - which means savings in energy. The cherry on the top of the cake is that the moisture profile of the sheet improved significantly, which is typical for the non-woven Aquamaster base and TMO treatment. The customer's satisfaction has shown in reorders.

High-quality dryer fabric production in Finland and China

Tamfelt is at present the only dryer fabric manufacturer in the Nordic countries. Fabrics for the Scandinavian and European markets are mainly made at our Tampere plant.

All important dryer fabric suppliers, including Tamfelt, have built new capacity in China for the growing Asian market. Our plant in China has since March 2008 made over 100,000 m² of dryer fabric on their modern weaving looms, using the same yarns and same recipes as the Tampere plant.

Our main product Tamstar will in the future be made both in Tampere (for the domestic and European customers) and in Tianjin, China. The manufacturing of our special fabric types will be concentrated in China as their total volume is small and the manufacturing cost is high. The product division between the two plants is planned as follows:

Dryer fabric types made in Tampere:
Tamstar, Tamsoft, Silverstar, Saunastar, Goldstar.

Dryer fabric types made in China:
Tamstar, Tamdry, Unistar, Optimax.

For urgent deliveries, we keep raw fabric of Tamdry styles also in Tampere but it will only be woven in China in the future.

No dramatic overnight change will take place. For more information on the products and manufacturing sites, please contact your dryer fabric salesperson.

Technical customer service and any necessary troubleshooting will be taken care of by the experts in Tampere. Naturally, we have the worldwide network of experience at use at any time.Our strengths are the best dryer fabrics in the market, fast deliveries in emergency cases, quick reactions and support in problem situations, and our customer oriented and active RTD.

Tamfelt's seam felt family has grown

Tamfelt has launched new seamed press felts for pulp machines. The initial trials were started last year, and now we can say that the new felt styles have gained a steady foothold on pulp machines.

Pulpseam is a seamed marking felt that gives a larger drying surface on the pulp sheet in impingement drying. Seamstar DS is a seamed felt with two seam channels. The seam tenacity is excellent and running life on pulp machines is long.

Running results with both of these felt styles have been very good, and we have received reorders from customers. These new styles have also earned us many new positions on the growing pulp market.

100% Tamfelt fabrics and felts delivered to Aylesford PM 14

Tamfelt has been a fabric and felt supplier to Aylesford PM 14 ever since the machine was started up in 1995. The machine itself was supplied by Metso Paper. Originally, the forming section was SpeedFormer HS SC. In a rebuild in 2007 it was changed into OptiFormer LB. Tamfelt supplied the start-up fabrics for the new former. After the start-up, our share of fabrics has been 100%. The outer fabrics are Gapmaster PRO GMS type, and inner fabrics Gapmaster GMS. Machine speed at the moment is 1650-1700 m/min, and it makes newsprint out of 100% recycled fiber.

Tamfelt fabrics have contributed to good runnability of the machine and good paper quality. The Gapmaster GMS inner fabrics yield excellent dry content after the forming section. The Gapmaster GMS inner fabric, together with the finer Gapmaster PRO GMS outer fabric provide good formation. Sufficient cleanness of the forming section contributes to machine runnability. Thanks to the good wear resistance and long running life, the fabrics can be changed in planned shutdowns according to other shutdown needs on the machine.

Tamfelt also supplies 100% of the press felts and fabrics to Aylesford PM 14. The felt styles run have been Ecomax (pick-up, 3^rd press and 4^th press), and Laminet (bottom felt).

Tamfelt will also strengthen its position on the dryer section: an agreement has been signed for Tamfelt to supply 100% of all dryer fabrics to this machine.