Leading Italian manufacturer of recycled cardboard, Cartiera Fornaci, has placed an order for ABB's L&W Autoline paper testing equipment to be installed at its board mill in Fagnano Olona, Italy. The compact version of the technology unit will automate Cartiera Fornaci's entire paper testing process, enhancing efficiency, accuracy and sustainability.

Cartiera Fornaci has been a staple of the Italian pulp and paper industry for over 60 years. Cartiera Fornaci's mill, which delivers 55,000 tons of recycled cardboard between 360 to 1000g/m2 to its customers yearly, will leverage the L&W Autoline solution to replace its current manual testing processes. Some of the mill's testing is currently carried out manually and in writing, a time-consuming process prone to human error. With the implementation of L&W Autoline, the Fornaci mill team will benefit from automated paper testing, which is typically 10 times faster than manual testing, with complete results available in under 10 minutes.

Armed with these insights, Cartiera Fornaci will be empowered to make more informed decisions and take quicker corrective action and adjust their processes and parameters in real time. These optimizations will deliver increased efficiencies with significant waste reduction, saving energy and raw materials usage.

"We are excited to partner with ABB as they support us on our journey of digital transformation," said Benedetta Cattaneo, Managing Director at Cartiera Fornaci. "We were captivated by L&W Autoline from the first demonstration and can clearly see the value it will deliver to our mill as we move away from manual, time intensive processes into a new age of automated insights."

"While large mills have historically led the way in adopting technologies enabling digital transformation, smaller mills are increasingly recognizing the significant benefits digitalization and automation offers and its importance in keeping pace with larger players," said Erik Teunissen, Area Sales Manager, ABB Italy. "We hope that Cartiera Fornaci's adoption of the L&W Autoline sets a positive example for other smaller mills looking to enhance their competitiveness and sustainability in the evolving pulp and paper industry."

ABB's L&W Autoline is the fastest and most reliable automated paper testing solution. It meets current industry standards (ISO/TAPPI) and delivers accurate and repeatable quality reports in minutes, allowing production to react faster to process disturbances.

The scope of the testing modules includes: Bendtsen Roughness, Thickness, Moisture, Burst P, Bending 50 mm, Grammage.