The installation of Voith's HighPerformance Press in the press section of Smurfit Westrock Roermond Papier's PM 1 represents a milestone in the development of the product. After a rebuild time of only 38 hours and a smooth start-up, production was fully ramped up again.

The advantages of the new press solution became immediately clear: The HighPerformance Press increases the dry content of the paper web after the press section and enables Smurfit Westrock to make significant steam savings in the dryer section. As a result, energy consumption and CO₂ emissions can be significantly reduced.

Sjon Vrieze, Technical Operations Manager at Smurfit Westrock Roermond Papier, says: "Thanks to the innovative HighPerformance Press solution from Voith, we can save 7,500 tons of steam and 1,113 tons of CO₂ per year. This is an important contribution to our decarbonization roadmap and shows the potential for converting other Smurfit Westrock paper machines."

A big step towards more sustainability in the production process is a goal that Voith and Smurfit Westrock share. Furthermore, the increased dry content after the press section enables an increase in production speed. This in turn can lead to larger production quantities with consistent quality.

Smurfit Westrock, a global leader in sustainable paper and packaging, operates in 40 countries with over 500 packaging converting operations and 63 paper mills.