The packaging company says ABB's software will be integrated across its Kemsley Mill in the United Kingdom.
DS Smith, a paper packaging producer based in the United Kingdom, has announced a new contract with Swedish technology company ABB to futureproof operations and strengthen cybersecurity functionality at its Kemsley Mill in the U.K.
The paper mill, located in Kent in South East England, is the largest mill for recycled paper in the U.K. and second largest in Europe with an annual production capacity of approximately 840,000 tons, producing light medium which DS Smith says is the first recycled lightweight paper manufactured in the U.K.
In a news release announcing the contract, ABB says it is supporting Kemsley Mill's evolution with the ABB Ability System 800xA distributed control system (DCS) and paper machine drives upgrade across the PM3, PM4 and PM6 machines. According to ABB, the upgraded DCS will be integrated across the mill to work as the backbone that connects everything securely in one system for more automated functionality and easier maintenance.
"ABB's consultation, involving numerous remote workshops and ongoing discussions, helped us define the best approach for our modernization project," Kemsley Mill Manager Ben Jennings says. "The team showed real expertise and understanding of our future ambitions and will act as a partner to us in our digital transformation journey."
ABB also will provide a one-year support contract, the latest cybersecurity set-up and new two virtual measurements for PM4, which will provide online calculations for strength and weight. The system is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of this year and DS Smith says a "progressive implementation of the system will align with the planned maintenance program in the successive months."
"DS Smith is a leading European and U.S. paper manufacturer with a clear vision for their future operations," says Jan-Willem Bos, regional industry lead, ABB Pulp and Paper. "The Kemsley Mill is a great example of a facility with the foresight to plan for the bigger digitalization rapidly emerging in the pulp and paper industry. We're please to build on our longstanding relationship and work closely with DS Smith to drive their strategic evolution."
DS Smith has made several investments in the past several years into automation and technology at the Kemsley Mill. In August of last year, the company invested in 10 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to increase sustainability and efficiency. The all-electric Rocla vehicles supplied by Mitsubishi Logisnext Europe Oy, headquartered in Amsterdam, perform a variety of tasks around the warehouse, including collecting reels from the production conveyor, storing reels and picking reels for orders. When the AGVs aren't tasked with work, they automatically switch to housekeeping mode, rotating stocks in order of age and consolidating stocks to maximize warehouse capacity.
Jennings said last year, "The recent boom in e-commerce has increased the demand for our papers and packaging. Every day, around 2,400 tons of paper leaves the Kemsley Mill and so it's critical that our talented team has the latest innovations to benefit our people, customers and the environment."
In a recent trading update issued to investors, DS Smith Group Chief Executive Miles Roberts said the company expects up to $768 million in adjusted operating profits for its fiscal year, which ended in April. He cited "continued momentum [with] good progress in profitability and cash generation" during the previous six months.
The company says all grades of URB will go up $50 per ton in the U.S. and Canada.
Packaging producer Sonoco, based in Hartsville, South Carolina, has announced it is implementing a price increase for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) in the United States and Canada, effective with shipments beginning May 30.
The company is increasing its URB pricing by $50 per ton and says the change reflects continued tight market conditions and inflationary pressures on manufacturing costs, including energy, freight, chemicals, packaging materials and labor.
"Unfortunately, the conditions that challenged us in 2021 have not dissipated in 2022," says Tim Davis, division vice president and general manager, paper – U.S. and Canada for Sonoco. "We continue to be challenged by strong demand, increasing backlogs and inflating costs."
Sonoco recently released its first-quarter financial results for 2022, noting record sales compared with 2021. The company's net sales were $1.77 billion compared with $1.35 billion in Q1 2021. At the time, Sonoco President and CEO Howard Coker said the company's first-quarter earnings benefited from strong price/cost recover across most of its business, adding he was "very please with their better-than-expected first-quarter results."
Coker also noted that supply chain issues have prompted Sonoco to delay the conversion of its Hartsville paper machined from corrugated medium to URB to the third quarter of this year, saying the delay is expected to result in less downtime and "should provide more favorable results in our Industrial Paper Packaging segment in the second quarter."
U.S.-made SSI shredder prepares material for Japan’s Kayama Kogyo Co. Ltd.
A slow-speed high-torque shredder made in the United States is playing a critical role in a Japanese company’s effort to obtain energy recovery value from difficult-to-recycle material.
According to SSI Shredding Systems Inc., based in the U.S., the installation at a Kayama Kogyo Co. Ltd. facility in Toyokawa, Japan, was undertaken to accomplish several waste and recycling-related goals.
SSI describes Kayama, which was established in 1961, as specializing in waste collection, transportation, disposal and recycling. The company conducts its own research into disposal and recycling technologies with the objective of creating a sustainable and healthy environment, says the equipment maker.
“We very much enjoy working with Kayama,” says Rich Ellis, Asia market sales manager for SSI. “Kayama is a progressive company working to make the world a better place.”
An SSI Quad Q100SD at the Toyokawa Plant is “one of many SSI shredder installations that Kayama owns and operates,” according to SSI.
At Toyokawa, the SSI four-shaft shredder serves as both a primary shredder and a “size reducing powerhouse,” says the equipment provider.
A video posted by SSI to its website says materials fed into the Q100SD include mixed waste, fishnet and super sacks.
In Toyokawa, the QuadQ100SD blades are spaced 2.5-inches (65 millimeters, or mm) apart while the screen size for outbound material is set at four inches (100 mm). The shredding setup has been designed to process a variety of materials and produce a small, consistent particle size, says SSI, to “create an environmentally friendly fuel material.”
A magnet placed between the four-shaft shredder and the outbound material also recovers ferrous scrap for recycling. A hand picker working the outbound material line is on hand for additional quality control measures.
SSI describes the Q100 as being “known as multipurpose shredders because they are designed to work like a two-shaft shredder when the internal screen is removed, or as a sizing shredder that’s able to shred, liberate and reduce a wide range of commingled materials without overly thick metals, in one pass.”
It lists aluminum extrusions, electronic scrap, obsolete appliances, material recovery facility (MRF) residuals, plastic scrap, carpet and paper mill ragger wire as materials successfully handled by installed Q11 models.
Kayama president and CEO Junichiro Kayama says the shredding system has been crucial toward its main goal of landfill diversion of materials that do not commonly have mechanical recycling outcomes. He also is complimentary of SSI equipment.
“We currently have three SSI shredders in operation,” the CEO says. “They are capable of processing extremely difficult materials, which makes them very useful. Also, the customer service has been amazing, which has given us peace of mind.”
With annual casting capacity of 240,000 tons of sheet ingot, the facility is expected to reduce Novelis’ carbon emissions by more than 1 million tons annually.
Novelis Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, has broken ground on a $365 million investment in a highly advanced recycling center in Guthrie, Kentucky, that will be able to cast 240,000 tons of sheet ingot for its automotive customers per year. The company says the facility is expected to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 1 million tons annually and to add approximately 140 jobs.
The site is adjacent to Novelis' existing automotive finishing plant in Guthrie, which currently employs 150 people and is expected to grow to 190 employees over the next two years.
Novelis first announced its plans for the center, which will allow the company to grow its closed loop recycling programs with its North American automotive customers and be able to process aluminum from end-of-life vehicles, in January.
Beatriz Landa, vice president of metal procurement and recycling for Novelis North America, told Recycling Today earlier this year that the investment to produce its own recycled-content automotive aluminum ingots will allow Novelis to become “more sustainable and more independent in the market.”
Regarding the technologies the site will employ, she said, “We’re looking at a lot of things,” including readily available technologies such as LIBS, or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and XRT, or X-ray transmission. “And then we’re looking at some other solutions that are pretty innovative,” Landa told Recycling Today, declining to elaborate.
"This groundbreaking marks a major milestone in our ongoing commitment to sustainability and recycling and also supports our automotive customers' carbon reduction targets," says Tom Boney, executive vice president and president of Novelis North America, in a news release about the event. "The commonwealth of Kentucky continues to be a great partner to Novelis. We are proud to build on the rich 40-year history of our aluminum recycling operations in Kentucky and look forward to deepening our relationships to ensure our facility has a lasting, beneficial impact in the region."
Novelis says the new recycling center is expected to be operational in 2024 and will be equipped with industry-leading processes and capabilities, including advanced shredding and sorting technology, as well as energy-efficient innovations to support its sustainability goal to reduce energy intensity by 10 percent by 2026 and be net carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner.
"We're grateful to have celebrated this occasion with our employees, community leaders and the great Commonwealth of Kentucky," says Tom Lilienthal, Guthrie plant manager.
Attending the event were Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Jason Petrie, Rep. Thomas Massie, Morgan Alvey from Sen. Mitch McConnell's office, Corey Elder from Congressman James Comer's office, Guthrie Mayor Jimmy Covington and Judge Todd Mansfield.
"I was thrilled to be a part of Novelis' groundbreaking on their new state-of-the-art facility that will create over 140 jobs for Kentuckians and allow the company to grow its recycling programs to serve customers all across the U.S. I look forward to watching Novelis' continued success in the commonwealth and the economic prosperity it brings to Guthrie," Paul says.
Novelis operates a number of plants in Kentucky. In addition to its Guthrie automotive finishing facility, Novelis operates an aluminum beverage can recycling plant in Berea, Kentucky, and the Logan Aluminum joint venture in Russellville, Kentucky, employing 1,600 people in the state.
"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this ground-breaking ceremony today for a project that will create 140 quality jobs for Kentucky residents," Beshear says. "Novelis has seen rapid growth in our state, and this new recycling center in Todd County emphasizes the company's commitment to sustainability and job creation in the commonwealth. I want to thank the leaders at Novelis for this latest long-term commitment in our incredible workforce."
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