Major Vaahto Rebuild at Iggesund Board Mill Completed

22.10.2007 VAAHTO PULP & PAPER MACHINERY, RELEASE

Major Vaahto rebuild at Iggesund board mill completed

Swedish Iggesund Paperboard Ltd ordered an extensive rebuild of KM2 paperboard machine from Vaahto Pulp & Paper Machinery, a member of Vaahto Group, in 2005. The installation is now complete at the Iggesund mill known for its high quality coated graphic packaging boards.

Vaahto delivered a new three-ply wire section including two new headboxes and two pressure screens for the board machine of wire width 5.1 meters and a maximum operating speed of 550 m/min. One of the headboxes, a Vaahto HQC-model, is equipped with dilution water control. The delivery also included a rebuild of the dryer section as well as equipment and flumes for water circulation. In total Vaahto was responsible for the engineering, production, installation, training and startup of the machine.

Most of the goods for this project were manufactured at Vaahto’s production sites in Hollola and Tampere, Finland. The engineering of the project began in early 2006 and deliveries took place in late summer 2007. The rebuilt machine was started up 9.10.2007 and has been producing quality board without noteworthy breaks ever since.

Iggesund Paperboard, part of the Holmen Group, announced in 2005 that it will invest a total of 415 million SEK in the Iggesund mill. According to Mr. Björn Kvick, Managing Director of Iggesund Paperboard, the company will secure its position as a leading producer of high quality graphic paperboards with this rebuild.

In an interview with Vaahto Group News, Project Manager Gunnar Fälldin from Iggesund specified two major targets for this project. “Above all, we want to improve the quality of our products as the surface properties and the rigidity and smooth runnability of the board in conversion machines are essential quality factors from our customer’s point of view. Another target is to increase the mill’s production capacity by 20,000 t/a. The partnership with Vaahto was successful through out the project. “Vaahto presented a good concept, and we feel that Vaahto is easy to work with. This is our impression of Vaahto, based on our previous experience with the company. They have an excellent reference within Iggesund Paperboard, concluded Fälldin.”

Iggesund Paperboard has also got a board machine in Workington, UK. The wire section of Workington PM1 was rebuilt successfully by Vaahto in 2004. The delivery included five new headboxes and three major top-former modernizations. The demanding installation was made in record breaking time – It took only five days.

VAAHTO GROUP PLC OYJ

Antti Vaahto

CEO

Further information:

Jyrki Strengell

Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Vaahto Pulp & Paper Machinery

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