ANDRITZ successfully starts up new PrimeReel system at Knauf Petroboard, Russia

The KM2 – with a basis weight range from 100 to 320 g/m2 – has a design speed of 700 m/min and a working width of 4.26 m. It has a maximum capacity of 155,000 t/a for production of gypsum board and uses 100% wastepaper as raw material.

The rebuild includes a new PrimeReel system with new reel spools, drives and controls, ensuring consistent paper quality from the first to the last wrap during reeling. The new reel reduces the volume of rejects previously generated and enables the use of larger reel diameters, thus resulting in less frequent reel spool changes.

ANDRITZ rebuilt the complete wet section (comprising the approach flow system and wire section) as well as the complete electrical drives (MMD) of KM2 in 2018.

Yuriy Mikhaylov, general director of Knauf Petroboard AG, says: "We are really impressed by the work of the ANDRITZ team. Despite the very challenging conditions due to the Covid pandemic, the start-up ran smoothly, and the rebuilt machine went into operation before the scheduled date.”

Knauf Petroboard, a member of the international Knauf Group, has a leading market position in Russia and the CIS countries in producing packaging board as well as gypsum board, which is used in the production of plasterboard.