ITALY (News release) -- Valmet will upgrade the current water treatment automation solution at Smurfit Kappa's Cartiera di Verzuolo mill in northern Italy with a Valmet DNA Distributed Control System (DCS). The new system will replace aging third-party Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and integrate the water treatment control to the existing, mill-wide Valmet DNA automation system. The upgrade also includes extending the automation to the anaerobic treatment unit.

The delivery will take place in March 2024.

The delivery includes Valmet DNA ACN MRN Controllers with Profinet and Profibus links. Valmet's efficient ACN industrial controller family ensures a reliable platform for all process controls and connectivity to external systems. As a major benefit of the upgrade, existing I/O hardware of the Valmet DNA system in the mill scales up for the new needs and can remain unchanged.

Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world. The Verzuolo mill in Italy has been part of the group since its purchase from the Italian group Burgo in 2021 and has a production capacity of 600,000 tons of recycled containerboard per year.

Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.