Heidenheim, Germany 05 November 2013 -- In June 2013, Voith installed a new VariFlex winder at Mpact’s PM 3 in Felixton, South Africa, in just eight days. Two days after start-up, the maximum operating speed of 2,500 m/min was reached.

With this project Mpact Ltd. pursued two goals: Compared to the former winder, the new VariFlex should feature a 50% higher processing capacity, thus allowing to cope with a planned increase in production at the PM 3 in the future. In addition, the time from switching off the old winder until starting up the VariFlex was reduced to an absolute minimum. The combined efforts of the Voith and Mpact installation teams enabled the start-up of the winder two days earlier than the demanding 10-day planned schedule. The two goals were achieved.

The efficient installation and start-up process was made possible by a special procedure. Even before the new winder was delivered, it was taken into operation at Voith in Krefeld, Germany, then packed into three oversize containers and shipped to South Africa. In Felixton, a crane lifted the winder into the mill, where it was installed in the course of 24-hour shifts.

“The new winder has removed the bottleneck in our process. We have already seen an 8 % speed increase on the paper machine and are looking forward to the next machine upgrade knowing we are not constrained of the front end“, says Brian Smith, Mill Manager at Mpact Felixton.

Mpact Ltd. is one of the largest producers of paper and plastics packaging in southern Africa. The company has 31 locations in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Felixton is situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east of the Republic of South Africa. On its PM 3 in Felixton, Mpact produces various grades of corrugated base paper in a basis weight range of 90–190 g/m².

Voith Paper is a division of the Voith Group and the leading partner to and pioneer in the paper industry. Through constant innovations, Voith Paper is optimizing the paper manufacturing process, focusing on developing resource-saving products to reduce the use of energy, water, and fibers. Furthermore, Voith Paper offers a broad service portfolio for all sections of the paper manufacturing process.

Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs almost 42,000 people, generates € 5.7 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.