Valmet

Rebuild
Guide
Things to consider before
rebuilding your paper machine
– a practical guide book.
 Introduction
Things to consider before rebuilding your paper machine

Rebuilding a paper or board machine can improve the competitiveness of your

business and your processes. But where do you start? How do you develop a viable
concept? What’s involved and what do you need to know?

This guide book is intended for paper and board makers and machine owners and
it will guide you through what needs to be considered before, during and after a re-
build project. It will help you answer questions about how to decide on the type and
scope of the rebuild, how to plan it, what’s involved in building it, how to ensure a
smooth ramp up to full production and how to minimize the risks.

At Valmet, we have great experience and expertise in rebuilding all kinds of ma-
chines and we asked our experts to provide tips, advice and industry insight to help
you demystify the rebuild process.

2 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK INTRODUCTION

Contents
2 Introduction
4 New machines vs rebuilds
Why consider a rebuild?
5 What does a rebuild involve?

Plan it

7 Begin at the beginning

8 What kind of schedule can you expect?
9 What kind of help will you need?
10 How do you develop a rebuild concept?
What do feasibility studies and audits include?
11 What do you need to consider?
12 What kind of opportunities can you expect?

Build it

17 From idea to reality – Transformation begins

18 What does the rebuild delivery involve?
19 How can you ensure a smooth rebuild delivery?
20 Commissioning and testing
Personnel training
Start-up

Use it

22 Ramp-up and full production

23 How do you avoid risks?
24 Who can you ask about rebuilds?

Disclaimer – every rebuild is different

The numbers quoted in this guide book are based on the experience of Val-
met’s experts. They are provided to give you a rough idea of the typical times,
costs and calculations involved in a rebuild. However, they should not be used
to calculate costs, schedules or targets for your own rebuild. The costs and pro-
posals for each rebuild must be assessed and calculated on a case by case basis.
 New machines vs
Rebuilds
If you have the choice between buying and rebuilding an old paper machine to your specifications or build-
ing a brand new machine, what should you consider?

The basic rule of thumb is that a rebuild will always be much more demanding than new installation. An old
machine, even if it’s only 10 years old, comes with limitations. It will take more time, money and engineering
to ensure that the old and new components work well together. Meeting the start-up curve will take longer
time. Conversely, a new machine is a pre-tested whole that is designed to work in unison.

Why consider a
Rebuild?
Rebuilds can improve productivity, quality and efficiency, and they can enable you to produce different
grades. They can also help your company reach strategic business goals, including measures to improve mar-
ket position, to meet new market needs or to match a competitor’s capacity and/or quality. In the current
market, common rebuilds are conversions of printing and writing paper machines.

It is worth ensuring that the technical and process goals of a proposed rebuild will also meet the business
goals. The good news is that whatever the requirement, there are many options and possibilities to improve
both your machine and your business.

For production and process

To meet new requirements
improvements and conversions

Some of the most common reasons for There are other reasons that rebuilds may
rebuilding a machine include: be needed. As sustainability and environ-
mental protection become more import-
• To convert to grades that meet ant, many old machines also need to be
changing market demand modernized to meet current standards.
• To convert to more profitable grades
• To increase efficiency • To improve energy efficiency
• To increase speed and production • To reduce pollution and emissions
capacity • To meet new regulations
• To improve reliability and runnability • To change to cheaper raw materials
• To remove bottlenecks • To improve safety
• To reduce costs
• To improve quality

4 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK INTRODUCTION

What does
a rebuild involve?
A rebuild involves rebuilding parts of a paper or board machine using different components with the aim of
improving the process or end products. Rebuilds can improve productivity, quality and efficiency, and they
can enable you to produce different grades. They can also help your company reach strategic business goals,
including measures to improve market position, to meet new market needs or to match a competitor’s ca-
pacity and/or quality. In the current market, common rebuilds are conversions of printing and writing pa-
per machines.

A rebuild involves three main phases: planning, delivery and use.

Plan it Build it Use it

Planning is the most In the delivery phase, In this phase, the

important phase.
This is when the
business case, rebuild
targets and scope are
defined. Anything
that is forgotten
or overlooked at
this stage will add
unnecessary time, cost
and complexity later.
the machine is rebuilt.
The new sections and
components are engi-
neered, delivered and
installed during a shut-
down of the existing
machine, and the rebuilt
machine is commis-
sioned and tested.
rebuilt machine is
started-up, and then
ramped-up and opti-
mized, and your staff
will get hands on train-
ing for using it.

INTRODUCTION VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 5

 Plan it
Plan it
Begin
at the beginning

Before deciding on the details of your rebuild, consider that the machine may be in use for another 10 to 20
years, or even longer. This means that the decisions made before the rebuild will affect its productivity and
profitability for years to come. This includes balancing the operating costs of the rebuilt machine against the
capital costs. Although the initial investment may be large, a well-scoped rebuild should result in clear finan-
cial benefits over the lifetime of the machine – careful work at the beginning will pay off in the long run. To
ensure a successful rebuild, everything needs to be clearly defined, from the proposed targets to the sched-
ule, the costs, limitations and the market situation now and in the future. It’s also an opportunity to pre-plan
the long-term development of your machine and take into account how future rebuilds could be implement-
ed, as well.

Some of today’s reasons for rebuilds:

Lightweighting Plastic Digitization

replacement

New technologies enables
replacement of some of the
more expensive pulp raw
material with lighter filler
material.
The result is a product
which is lighter in weight
but which performs just as
well, if not better. You can
produce more board us-
ing less raw material and
less energy, reducing both
your costs and your envi-
ronmental impact.
Lightweighting is a kind
of grade conversion, how-
ever the process speeds
are usually higher and the
conversion will place more
demand on components
throughout the machine,
starting from the process
preparations.
Fiber based packaging pro-
ducers take great pride in
providing options that are
more sustainable than plas-
tic packaging.
A rebuild may enable
your customers to reduce
the environmental foot-
print of their packaging, as
well as supporting them in
their efforts to respond to
consumers’ needs for sus-
tainable choices. There is a
growing need for packag-
ing products which are pro-
duced without a tradition-
al plastic barrier and which
are designed for full fiber
recovery in a recycling pro-
cess.
A rebuild provides a good
opportunity to upgrade the
control and monitoring sys-
tems, as well as the ma-
chine.
Integrating your machine
and processes with the In-
dustrial Internet will pro-
vide you with significant
improvements in process
awareness, analysis and
control, and plenty of data
to play with. This will im-
prove profitability through
stabilization of your pro-
cesses and by saving energy
and raw materials, and re-
ducing downtime.
In addition, the industrial
internet allows remote con-
nections to the supplier’s
support team, enabling fast-
er start-up and ramp-up,
easier optimization and a
very short response time.

PLAN IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 7

 What kind of schedule
can you expect?
The time needed to complete the whole process, from the first
request  for a rebuild to full production, can be between 2 to
3 years. During the initial decision phase it is important to re- A rebuild
member that the market situation can change during the life-
time of the project. can take 2–3 years
The time needed for the initial decision will depend on sever- from initial planning
al factors including the market situation and price indications
for the total investment. However, more precise time and cost
to full production
calculations can only be provided after the pre-engineering
phase.

The time needed for the pre-engineering and delivery of the

project will depend on the scope of the rebuild and the limita-
tions of the existing machine and site.
Use it

1–4 weeks
Build it
• Comissioning
and testing

Plan it 10–16 months

3 days to 2 weeks
• Engineering • Start-up
• Pre-testing in
Desicion making 2–5 months the workshop
• Delivery 3–12 months
• Market studies • Rebuild • Ramp-up
• Feasibility studies
• Optimization
1 month to • Machine audits
several years • Bottleneck analysis
• Benchmarking
• Payback and life
cycle cost calculations

3–6 months
• Pre-engineering
• Concept
development

8 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK PLAN IT

 What kind of help
will you need?
You are likely to need expert assistance in all phases of the project. Rebuilds are complicated but when you
use expert help you don’t need to be an expert in rebuilds yourself to make the project a success. Expert sup-
pliers can help you define the rebuild concept, recommend the best technology, provide additional capaci-
ty, help make the project go more smoothly, and minimize risks at every step, from planning to delivery to
start-up.

Reserve enough time to compare suppliers

When you compare suppliers, is important to check their delivery limits to ensure you compare like with
like. This will take time because you will need to get into the details of each suppliers’ technical quotations.
For example, you may need to check if the frames are painted or covered with acid-proof steel, if the struc-
tures are cantilevered, or if the “ceramics” are plastic or real ceramics. In each offer it should be clearly de-
fined who supplies the mechanical drives and piping, who pre-tests and tests the equipment, and if they sup-
ply the drive controls or just the descriptions.

Sustainability
It is important to reserve enough time for sustainability issues. Sustainability may cover significantly more
than obtaining permits and minimizing environmental impact, and can include anti-bribery policies, health
and safety, and corporate responsibility, for example. You may also need to demonstrate that your suppli-
ers are sustainable. Choosing a supplier with a good track record makes it easier to ensure that your rebuild
meets the relevant requirements, and the most reputable paper and board machine suppliers also audit their
partners to ensure that their entire supplychain is responsible and sustainable.

Case study
Kruger – Linerboard grade conversion
Kruger converted their newsprint machine in 2017 to produce the
finest 100-percent recycled high-strength linerboard on the market, with
the help of Valmet. During initial planning, their PM10 machine, at the
Trois-Rivières mill in Canada, was identified as the best candidate for
conversion. Kruger also took advantage of Valmet’s piloting services to
develop the rebuild scope and Valmet’s pilot machine in Finland was
adapted to show the different grades that could be produced.

Because grade conversion adds an extra layer of complexity to a rebuild,

the operators received thorough training during the six-week shutdown.
The machine was ramped-up with onsite expert support and remote
optimization from the Valmet Performance Center, enabling it to reach
its runnability, capacity and quality targets with outstanding results and
steady start-up curve development.
PLAN IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 9
 How do you develop
a rebuild concept?
Rebuilds provide great opportunities but to get the most from them you have to know the limitations of your
existing machine and what you can realistically achieve with it. This will require feasibility studies, bottle-
neck analysis, benchmarking, machine audits and more. Once you know what is possible, then you can de-
cide which changes are necessary, which are desirable, and which are too costly.

Another important factor is the market situation. In general, if

you aim to increase production without changing grade then
you will know the market need for your product, including how
much more you can sell and for what price. However, if you
aim to add more grades to your product portfolio and convert
to other grades you will need to analyze the market and fore-
cast demand for the product after the rebuild. This will require
studies on the potential grade volume of the rebuilt machine,
the predicted market price, and other factors. It is also advis-
able to establish which products would be most profitable, from
test liner to coated grades, and what the quality and capacity re-
quirements would be.
Expert tip

If you have the choice between buying

What do feasibility and rebuilding an old paper machine to
your specifications or building a brand
studies and audits new machine, what should you consid-
er?

include? The basic rule of thumb is that a rebuild

will always be much more demanding
than a new installation. An old machine,
Feasibility studies and audits analyse the machine and the even if it’s only 10 years old, comes with
market to establish the possible options, realistic targets and a lot of opportunities but also has lim-
the condition and limitations of the existing machine. They itations. It will take more time, money
cover everything from the technical requirements of the re- and engineering to ensure that the old
build to the market situation, the necessary planning per- and new components work well togeth-
mission and permits, civil engineering, local conditions, the er. Meeting the start-up curve will take a
schedule and much more. longer time. Conversely, a new machine
is a pre-tested whole that is designed to
work in unison.

10 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK PLAN IT

What do you
need to consider?  
The following list illustrates just some of the things that need to be planned for.

Infrastructure needs Planning needs

☐ Local regulations and permits ☐ Feasibility studies
☐ A survey of the infrastructure ☐ Bottleneck analysis
☐ A logistics survey ☐ Benchmarking
☐ Ground water protection areas ☐ Machine audits and condition
☐ Earthquake areas ☐ Machine drawings and data
☐ Local climate conditions ☐ 3D laser scanning of the existing machine
☐ Concept development
Production needs ☐ Target setting
☐ Pre-engineering
☐ Raw material planning
☐ Available space for the new machinery
☐ Raw material availability and price
☐ Available space for the rebuild work
☐ Energy availability and price
☐ Preparations for future rebuilds
☐ Paper and board grades and grammages
☐ Maintenance operations and planning
☐ Spare parts and consumable operations Engineering needs
☐ Steam and condensate requirements and ☐ Foundation drawings and loading capacity
availability ☐ Building levels and drawings
☐ Water requirements and availability ☐ Piping and cable tray routes
☐ Available space for the new machinery
Investment needs ☐ Available space for the rebuild work
☐ Consulting costs ☐ Manufacturing new components
☐ Contractor costs ☐ Integrating the new machinery into the
existing systems
☐ Rebuild costs
☐ Surrounding costs ☐ Establishing online capabilities
☐ Preliminary investment and production
calculations Personnel needs
☐ Profitability calculations ☐ Site management
☐ Financing ☐ Resource planning
☐ Description of the project with time schedule ☐ Competence mapping
☐ Estimated employee and subcontractor needs ☐ Personnel recruitment
☐ A preliminary budget ☐ Personnel safety
☐ Project management ☐ Safety on-site

Regulatory needs
☐ New safety and sustainability standards
☐ Safety certification
☐ Environmental restrictions and permits
☐ Planning permission
☐ Any necessary special permits

PLAN IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 11

 What kind of
opportunities can you expect?

Your current paper machine will have a lot of scope for

improvement. Almost any kind of rebuild is technical- Accurate
ly possible, however these opportunities have to be bal-
anced against practical limitations. The cost may be too
technical data
high, the payback time too long or the profitability too for the existing machine
low to make them financially feasible. Feasibility stud-
ies, bottleneck analysis, and other studies and audits will
is essential
be needed to identify the opportunities and limitations
of the project.

The existing machine

The biggest technical opportunity – and limitation – is usually the existing paper machine. The average re-
build takes place on a machine that is at least 20 years old, and they can be 30 to 40 years old. This means
that there will be many options for modernization. On the other hand, there may be bottlenecks which need
to be overcome. For example, older machines are not designed for today’s maximum running speeds, and
changes to one section may also demand changes in other sections. The safety of the old machine may also
need to be upgraded.

A complete understanding of the mechanical condition and technical specifications of the machine is need-
ed before realistic goals can be set. However, a common challenge is obtaining the documentation and tech-
nical data, especially with older machines. Often the documentation is incomplete, out-of-date or not avail-
able at all. 

Studies, audits and condition analysis can be used to get around this and to determine the condition and ca-
pacity of the machine, while 3D laser scanning can be used to make accurate technical drawings.

12 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK PLAN IT

The existing facility
The scope of a rebuild is also affected by the existing facility and associated infrastructure, and a rebuild can
provide a good opportunity to expand or modernize your facilities. All the new equipment associated with
the rebuilt machine has to fit in the same machine hall, and converting grades from paper to board will in-
crease the need for building work. An increase in capacity may also require, for example, an upgrade to the
steam and condensate system, including expanding the boiler capacity, as well as changes to the water treat-
ment plant. With extra production, a new or expanded warehouse may also be required and this may require
the purchase of new land. In addition, the mill’s energy and water supply have to be considered, as well as the
water consumption and discharge limits/permits.

All these factors must be considered, as well as the associated costs and schedules for civil engineering.

Total investment costs

Rebuilding a paper or board machine requires a large invest-
ment and this must be balanced against the payback time and
potential for improved productivity and profitability. De-
pending on the scope of the project, a rebuild can cost from a The actual
few hundred thousand euros to 50-70 million euros.
rebuild might
In addition, the shutdown time required for a rebuild can
range from 1-2 weeks to 2-3 months. Obviously, during this only account for

50%
time there will be no production at all. Therefore, the paper
maker needs to consider how to serve and retain their cus-
tomers during the shutdown and prevent competitors from
taking their business.

As a result, the total investment needed must cover planning of the total cost.
costs, the actual rebuild, side costs such as civil engineering
and permits, and the income lost due to the shutdown. The
rebuild itself might only account for 50% of the total cost or
even less.

PLAN IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 13

 Rebuild investment for the future - not just for the payback time

Customer
profit, €

Increased
profits

Payback time
difference
Start-up Time

Plan – Build Ramp up period Use

Higher initial investment, Moderate initial

higher long-term profit investment, moderate
potential long-term profit potential

Small initial investment,

small long-term profit
potential

Higher initial investment of a rebuild corresponds usually to higher long term profitability. If you focus sole-
ly on fast payback time, you see only half a picture. Rebuild investments calculated in millions are always in-
vestments for the next 5 or 10 years – not only 1-2 years.

Payback time and life cycle costs

The size of the rebuild needs to be balanced against the

payback time as well as the total investment costs. The
payback time for a rebuild may vary from 2 to 4 years.
However, if the scale of the rebuild is too large, the pay-
back time may be too long.

On the other hand, a rebuilt machine may be significant-

ly more profitable over its life time. These financial bene-
fits can come from improved reliability and productivity, Expert tip
and increased capacity, as well as savings from improved
process and energy efficiency, and changes to cheaper raw While lowering production costs and
materials, etc. All these factors must be assessed when increasing production can improve your
considering the business limits of the project. If the life cy- profitability, raising end product quality
cle cost benefits are high, then a larger investment with a can keep you ahead of your competitors.
longer payback time can be worthwhile.

14 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK PLAN IT

Pre-engineering
One of the keys to a successful rebuild project is thorough pre-engineering. While studies and audits will
give a price indication for the scope of the rebuild and the total investment budget, pre-engineering will give
a more detailed estimate of the actual work needed and the total project budget.

Pre-engineering is done before the rebuild begins and it involves specifying all the work that the rebuild
will require. This means identifying everything that needs engineering work, from each different section of
the machine that needs to be upgraded, changed or rebuilt and the work and technologies this will involve,
down to the details of every pipe that needs to be moved, changes in supporting structures, cable runs, au-
tomation planning, the timing and duration of the shutdown and more.

This information is essential for refining the rebuild concept and ensuring it is realistic, profitable and on
schedule, and it will minimize surprises and risks.

Pilot trials
Another way to refine and validate your rebuild concept is by running pilot trials to test the process, con-
cept, chemistry and other parameters planned for the machine. After the pilot trials, you will be able to fi-
nalize your rebuild concept and scope. Pilot trials can be bought from expert paper engineering companies.

Pilot trials are generally run on special machines which can be set up and reconfigured quickly to test dif-
ferent process parameters. This enables you to test every step of the process you want to run in your rebuilt
machine, including different raw materials, stock preparations, end product quality levels, paper and board
coatings, and machine technologies. It also allows you to compare different processes, products, concepts
and technologies.

Pilot machines produce finished product samples for you to evaluate, which makes it much easier to decide
if the product quality is what you want. For this reason, pilot trials are particularly valuable if you want to
change the quality or grade that your machine produces.

Case study
SAICA – Off-line coating grade conversion
The S.A. Industrias Celulosa Aragonesa (SAICA) El Burgo mill in Spain updated
one of their machines to produce board grades with a new off-line coating ma-
chine. The investment aimed to replace the white fibers in white top liners with
something else to produce grades that were printable with standard flexo print-
ing technology.
Pilot trials proved invaluable to making the project a success. They used pilot
facilities at Valmet Paper Technology Center to speed up the concept and coat-
ing definition, and to test different ingredients and different coating amounts.
This enabled them to test the final products at each step of the path from the
very beginning all the way to a ready-made printed box. Using this process of
trial and improvement, they ensured that the very first rolls off the rebuilt ma-
chine were high quality, with excellent appearance, even coverage and enhanced
brightness.
PLAN IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 15
Build it
From idea to reality
– Transformation begins

Pre-assembly and pre-testing

One way a supplier can ensure a rapid rebuild with mini- The key to
a successful
mized shutdown time is to pre-assemble parts of the ma-
chine in their workshop. This enables the components to
be delivered and installed using significantly less time and
rebuild project is
work on-site. Another benefit of this approach is that it can
also speed up the start-up and commissioning phases be- pre-engineering
cause, in some cases, the pre-assembled components can
be tested before delivery and installation.

Project delivery
Once everything has been planned, the rebuild can begin. Even before the project delivery begins, it is im-
portant to ensure excellent communication between all employees, contractors, subcontractors and other
partners. Each party should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, and the schedule should be ar-
ranged to ensure that all the necessary components, permits and manpower are available at the right time.

Project management
Ensuring that the rebuild project is managed well will save you time and money. However, rebuild projects
are so large that most paper and board makers have neither the resources nor the expertise or experience to
manage them. It is strongly recommended that you use professional project managers from an outside com-
pany to manage the project for you.

These rebuild experts will have the experience to know what needs to be considered and an understanding
of all the steps and processes involved. They will take responsibility for managing all the contractors, suppli-
ers and consultants, and for keeping the project on schedule. This will ensure that all the parts and people
turn up on time, in the right place, and with the right permits.

BUILD IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 17

 Safety
There are two main types of safety considerations: safety during the rebuild work and the safety of the re-
built machine.

Safety during the shutdown

To ensure safety onsite during the rebuild, all staff, contractors, and anyone else who will be onsite must have
safety training. The training will cover safety requirements, rules and safe working methods, as well as the
correct installation and operating procedures for the new equipment. The safety training should be manda-
tory and no one should be allowed on-site without it. In addition, every aspect of the work should have a risk
assessment so that all potential hazards are clearly identified in advance.

The safety of the rebuilt machine

The new parts of the rebuilt machine will be engineered according to the latest safety standards and direc-
tives. However the safety of the existing parts is the mill owner’s responsibility. Updating the existing ma-
chine is recommended but not required. Safety upgrades can include installing new guards and safety fenc-
es, for example. In addition, new safer working procedures might be needed, and it is advisable that all
personnel are trained to operate and maintain the rebuilt machine safely.

What does the rebuild

delivery involve?  
The delivery involves shutting down the machine, dis-
mantling and removing the old components, and install-
ing the new ones. Time is money in this phase because
production will be completely stopped during the shut-
down. It is crucial that everything goes according to plan
and stays on schedule.

The rebuild work may involve more than just rebuild-

ing the machine, and can include civil engineering like
building new foundations, structures and access routes.
If a lot of capacity is added, it may also include building
new warehouses, installing an uprated electricity sup-
Expert tip
ply, and upgrading the water supply and water treatment
plant.
One way to minimize production losses
During the work on the machine itself, the specified sec- and shorten the main shutdown is to use
tions will be upgraded, modernized or converted. This pre-shutdowns. These enable some tasks
involves the engineering, delivery, assembly and instal- to be carried out before the shutdown
lation of the new components, as well as electrification, while the machine is still operating.
electrical engineering, and automation. If the supplier
handles the installation, then they will take responsibil-
ity for the whole process, from installation to commis-
sioning, testing and start-up.

18 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK BUILD IT

How can you ensure
a
  smooth rebuild delivery?
First, all permits, licenses and certifications must be valid
before the rebuild begins. It is the paper maker’s responsi-
bility to comply with the relevant legal requirements, and it
is normal to use a consulting company to ensure that the pa-
perwork is in order.
Lead times for specially
Then, in addition to professional planning and project man-
agement, clear communication is essential. Clear channels manufactured parts
of communication guarantee that all employees, contrac- can be up to 1 year.
tors and other partners can work effectively together. There
should be no grey areas and the responsible people should
always be easy to find and contact.

It is also important to note that some lead times can be quite

long and the timetable must account for this. For example,
obtaining permits can take several months and the lead
times for special parts, especially if they are manufactured
to order, may be up to a year.
 Commissioning
and testing
Once the mechanical rebuild is complete, the machine needs to be commissioned and tested. For the best
results this should be done by the machine supplier together with the paper maker. During commissioning
and testing all the components of the machine, both old and new, must be tested to ensure safe and correct
operation. And then the machine as a whole also needs to be tested to verify that it is fully operational, in-
cluding all the automation, control and monitoring systems. In addition, if new boilers, water treatment fa-
cilities or electrical supplies have been installed, then these also need to be carefully checked and monitored
as the machine is ramped up to full production. In general, commissioning takes from 1-4 weeks.

Personnel
training
A good team of skilled personnel makes a huge difference to the success of a rebuild and they should already
be familiar with the new equipment and processes when the machine starts up. This means that they need to
be trained in advance. It’s a good idea to take training into account from the very beginning to ensure that
both your personnel and the training team are available at the right times.

You should discuss training needs with your supplier, including the number of people involved, the amount
of training and how long it will take.

Start-up
After commissioning, the machine can then be started up, i.e. production is slowly started. The machine
supplier should help with this phase as well because they will know how to get the best out of their technol-
ogy. If everything goes well, the start-up may only take a few days. depends on the size of the rebuild. De-
pending on the size of the rebuild, the start-up can take from 1-8 weeks.

Case study
Mondi – Press section modernization
Mondi rebuilt and modernized the entire press section of PM 5 at their
Štêtí mill. Keeping shutdown time to a minimum improves the over-
all profitability of a project. Therefore, Mondi and Valmet worked to-
gether to make the rebuild – and especially the commissioning phase
– as efficient as possible. This was achieved with a pre-assembled and
pre-tested press section that enabled fast onsite assembly. The smart
modular design also reduced the civil work needed. Both the technolo-
gy and automation were supplied by Valmet, which ensured the project
went smoothly. In addition to lowering costs, the short shutdown time
meant that the project stayed on schedule, and in fact they had sellable
sack kraft paper just three days after the start-up.
20 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK BUILD IT
 Use it

Use it
 Ramp-up
and full production

In the ramp-up phase the speed of the machine will carefully be raised until it reaches the target levels of ca-
pacity, productivity and quality. In contrast to Commissioning and Start-up, the Ramp-up phase may take
several months. Depending on the machine, the paper maker may need support from the machine supplier
for 3 to 12 months. There are several things that need to be considered:

• Optimizing the chemistry, machinery and automation for full production.

• Addressing any issues which arise as the production speed is raised.
• Ensuring that all the process and product targets are met.
• Ensuring that energy and water consumption targets are met.
• Training your staff to use the control systems, automation and machinery.
• Documenting the settings, procedures and results.
• In addition, if you use the machine to make several different grades, each of these
processes will need to be optimized as well.

Reaching the target performance level

Analyzing your machine’s process parameters in the planning phase will help you plan the rebuild to reach
your performance targets. The parameters should include the current and targeted grades, the basis weights
and speed, as well as paper profiles, dewatering measurements, felt and moisture profile measurements, as
well as moisture level measurements on the machine line.

How can you maximize the steepness of your start-up curve?

Some fine tuning will always be necessary but there are many factors that can help to ensure a good start-
up curve. These include avoiding delays and staying on schedule, good staff training to ensure the right skill
levels, pre-assembly and pre-testing so the machine is ready to use at start-up, and pilot trials to optimize
the rebuild concept and processes.

There are different types of agreements or other working methods to cooperate with the machine suppli-
er to further improve your start-up curve and to secure the operator know-how and process understand-
ing learned from the training during the start-up period. Even if the rebuild is small, an effective adoption
of the new maintenance actions and other operations must be ensured, and machinery, equipment and pro-
cessed optimized. The agreements can be adjusted to improve and support your operations for several years.

22 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK BUILD IT

 How do you
avoid risks?
Getting a rebuild right comes down to good preparation, skilled engineering and having the experience to
know what to look out for. Even so, every rebuild is unique and problems can still arise in areas that were
never considered risks. The more you know about your machine before the rebuild, the fewer risks there
will be. There are also several common Do’s and Don’ts that should always be remembered, which will help
minimize risks.
Do’s
Plan well
The importance of good planning cannot be over-em-
phasized. The success of the whole rebuild depends on it.
Know your machine’s potential and its
limitations
If you don’t, you won’t know what can be improved or
the problems you need to solve, what the result of the
rebuild will be or what you’re spending your money on
Do pre-engineering
This is one of the keys to a successful rebuild.
Get a machine supplier or professional consul-
tant to help to do pre-engineering. This will re-
duce the risk of things going wrong or taking too
long and ensure the profitability of your investment.
Choose a reputable supplier
Use a supplier that is experienced in pre-engineer-
ing, pilot trials and rebuild work. Using a single sup-
plier may be more expensive in the beginning but it
will pay off in the long run – the project will go more
smoothly and you will avoid delivery limit risks and
communication problems between suppliers and
contractors.
Dont’s
Know your own strengths
Your company specializes in making paper and/or
board. Other companies specialize in rebuilds. They
will be familiar with all the requirements and tech-
nical needs, and the best industry practice, and they
will solve problems much faster.
Don’t cut corners
Remember the long term profitability of your ma-
chine before you try to save costs in the plan-
ning phase. Skipping steps at the beginning or us-
ing cheap contractors will eventually cost you more
through delayed schedules, slow optimization, low
reliability and late payback.
Don’t forget the civil engineering
Very many times companies only budget for work
on their machine but forget the other costs. This
leads to huge cost overruns. And if you forget to
budget for the civil engineering, it’s also going to be
late and delay your rebuild.
Avoid grey areas
It is essential that the delivery scope for each suppli-
er is very clearly defined and that the communica-
tions are clear. There should be no room for misun-
derstanding. Everyone involved must know who is
responsible for what and what the timetable is. Mis-
understandings make projects late.
USE IT VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK 23
 Do’s
Understand the importance of project
management
Make sure every aspect of the project is profession-
ally managed and scheduled. Good organization-
al skills and long experience in project management
are essential for ensuring work is completed on time,
that nothing is forgotten, and that everyone follows
the plans exactly.
Dont’s
Don’t ask one machine to do too much
It’s not reasonable to expect a rebuilt machine to
handle a huge range of products and grades. The re-
build will be expensive, it will be difficult to opti-
mize production every time you change grades and
it will not be economical. It is better to concentrate
on a reasonable number of grades and grammages.

Avoid unrealistic schedules

Arrange good management
It’s important to assign clear responsibility for man-
aging all the work on site including preparations, the
shutdown, rebuild, installation, start-up, safety and
personnel.
Make sure you plan enough time for the planning
phase, ordering and purchasing, civil engineering,
permit applications and the rebuild engineering. If
the schedule is too tight, then there may be delays
and late revisions, and contractors may no longer be
available when you need them.

Assign a new employee

Hire new staff to run your rebuilt machine rather
than swapping people in from one of your other ma-
chines. This will ensure that both machines receive
the full attention they need and that the performance
and runnability of your other machine doesn’t suffer.
Avoid unrealistic targets
Setting realistic targets is a compromise between im-
proved profitability, investment costs and payback
time. If the rebuild scope is too large, the payback
time might be so long that the project never achieves
profitability.

Who can you ask

about rebuilds?
You can ask us, we’ll be pleased to help. At Valmet, we know every part of the rebuild process inside out,
and we know how to get the most from every paper and board machine. From services, to machine solu-
tions and automation, we have the know-how and the skill to ensure that your rebuilt machine delivers the
results you want.

Contact our experts.

boardpaper@valmet-com

Visit our rebuild pages to learn more about our services.

https://www.valmet.com/board-and-paper/board-and-paper-machines/rebuilds/

24 VALMET REBUILD GUIDE BOOK BUILD IT

About Valmet
Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of tech-
nologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and
energy industries. Valmet’s vision is to become the global
champion in serving its customers. Our 13,000 profession-
als around the world work close to our customers and are
committed to moving our customers’ performance forward
– every day.