JAKARTA, Indonesia -- As more and more companies globally focus on efficiency and sustainability rather than just production volume, leading global technology systems provider ABB provides end-to-end digital solutions for process industries that seek to help organizations automate, optimize and future-proof their operations.

ABB's solutions cover multiple industries and serve the many needs of the pulp and paper industry, among the leading sectors in Indonesia. Paper-producing companies in South-East Asia are actively looking to streamline their operations, keep up with industry changes and technological developments, upgrade their process controls and automation strategies, take costs out of business, and increase the yield and quality of paper production.

Within ABB's portfolio of digital solutions, known as the ABB Ability™ solution suite, the company is set up to fulfill the needs and drive modern mill transformation. ABB Ability solutions for pulp and paper deliver long-lasting, unparalleled value because of their powerful combination of methodology, data analytics, and industry expertise.

Tailor-made services software driving operational excellence

Among its flagship solutions is the ABB Ability^TM Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for pulp and paper. It is specifically designed to help pulp, paper, tissue and packaging producers achieve operational excellence and maximum performance across multiple production lines.

This MES differs from a more 'agnostic' system in that it can be customized to solve production challenges specific to pulp and paper mills, helping explicitly streamline various processes by better use of materials and inventory. This also leads to reduced production costs and increased sustainability performance due to less waste.

The recent and notable rollout has been with Sappi Limited, a global renewable resource company in the pulp and paper industry. Sappi has chosen ABB Ability ^TM MES to help in the digital transformation of its entire production fleet and to spearhead the improvement of its Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) through optimized production, planning, and execution.

Faster and better decision-making

Other ABB Ability solutions provide mills with the concise information needed to enable faster and better decision-making. A key solution for paper mills is Sheet Break Performance, which automatically curates, calculates, and contextualizes data points to help analyze, prevent and avoid possible causes of sheet breaks.

One of the first ABB clients to leverage Sheet Break Performance was PT. Riau Andalan Kertas mill (RAK) in Indonesia, part of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited. The mill had experienced many sheet breaks and wanted to understand the causes. ABB started with base level control tuning before adding Sheet Break Performance, which contributed to the mill's ambitious digital transformation while helping accurately diagnose sheet breaks.

Another example of making use of data to make more informed decisions are the rollout of ABB virtual measurements, which are created from the combination of available online and/or offline process and product measurements to give visibility into process performance and improvement areas. ABB Ability ^TM Strength Virtual Measurement is such a solution that provides paper makers guidance on optimizing sheet strength and production costs using the resulting real-time inferred strength measurement. This offers opportunities to optimize the process while the paper is being made instead of waiting for lab testing to confirm paper strength.

"As we demonstrated with RAK, collaborative automation using advanced data and analytics of this scale coupled with the remote connectivity and efficiency for faster diagnostics, helps customers succeed by seeking ways to move the needle and stay competitive," says WeiMing Liew, Pulp and Paper Industry Lead, ABB.

APC optimization for improved performance

Meanwhile, ABB's Advance Process Control packages (APC), which are integrated seamlessly into the ABB Ability™ System 800xA distributed control system, automatically adjust the model based on process changes (i.e., the Economic Optimizer feature looks for ways to optimize operational costs within process constraints while continuously monitoring controls).

India-based ABB client Andhra Paper integrated the ABB OPT800 Lime APC solution in to its existing System 800xA to help optimize the lime kiln production. OPT800 Lime enables tighter control of the lime production process by accurately predicting process variable interactions and making real-time adaptions to process changes. This leads to smooth and stable pulp mill operation and uniform lime quality, while also reducing energy consumption and emissions.

Outstanding enterprise-level monitoring

ABB delivers the abovementioned solutions as a service, with the ABB Ability™ platform enabling a shared collaborative dashboard and remote access, supporting a common standard view mill-wide and from enterprise level to equipment level. Mill operators gain easy access to their data. At the same time, the modular format of Ability solutions also provides an easy way to add functionality and even link companies' different sites together.

"ABB Ability solutions combine ABB's deep domain expertise with connectivity and software innovation to empower real-time, data-driven decisions for safer, smarter operations that maximize resource efficiency and contribute to a low-carbon future. Our large portfolio of digital solutions helps organizations automate, optimize and future-proof their business to achieve new heights of performance and drive sustainable progress," concluded Liew.