HELSINKI -- Valmet and ARAUCO have signed an agreement to jointly develop the Arauco Mill Line 3 in Chile to become the world's most autonomous pulp mill. Valmet will supply its Industrial Internet Solutions (VII Solutions) comprised of Mill Wide Optimization applications, advanced prediction and monitoring applications as well as expert services. The target is to improve the overall efficiency and profitability of the entire mill by coordinating and optimizing across process islands. The expert support is given both onsite and remotely through Valmet Performance Centers in South America and the Nordics.

The Arauco Mill Line 3, located in the Bio Bío Region in Chile, is currently being built as the MAPA project, a major investment to expand ARAUCO's current pulp production capacity. As announced in 2018, Valmet delivers pulp drying and baling, recovery boiler and biomass boiler to the MAPA project.

"Since we started the MAPA project in 2011, we have wanted that the project represents a real contribution to the territory and is also in line with the environmental standards required today. From the beginning, this project comprised a broad investment program in technology, energy efficiency and big data, among others, which will make the processes much more efficient. Our partnership with Valmet represents another step in the sustainable development of the project. We believe that it is essential to have a world-class ally that guarantees the standards and the best technology available in the market today," says Charles Kimber, Senior Vice President, People and Sustainability, ARAUCO.

"This is a true partnership, where we have jointly tailored the solution to best suit the ARAUCO's needs. With this partnership it will be possible to maximize the production of the mill and move towards an autonomous mill. In this project we utilize our solid process and automation know-how and combine our strong local presence in South America with our global resources. Our common target with ARAUCO in the first phase is to secure successful commissioning of the MAPA project, fast start-up, ramp-up curve and improve the overall efficiency and profitability of the mill for the years to come," says Félix Hernaiz, General Manager, Andes Region, Valmet.

Technical information about the agreement

The contract includes several Valmet Mill Wide Optimization applications which provide a completely new way to improve mill profitability. The Mill Wide Optimization applications use process flowsheet optimization to automate mill level decisions and coordinate process area actions by generating production and quality plans for each mill area to help increase production and reduce costs. Additionally, Valmet will deliver optimization, advanced monitoring and prediction applications for selected process areas focusing on the pulp dryer and power and recovery boilers. Optimizations are based on Valmet's kappa, brightness and alkali analyzer measurements.

Valmet also delivers expert support onsite and remotely from Valmet Performance Centers in South America and the Nordics. A Valmet expert will be daily at the mill and Valmet specialists will visit the mill several times a year to evaluate the performance. A comprehensive Data Discovery service will be implemented during the five-year contract period.

"This agreement combines Mill Wide Optimization, Advanced Process Controls (APC), analytical applications and remote services from Valmet Performance Center. We are using Valmet Customer Portal as our digital collaboration space to provide easy access to the advanced applications and the Valmet expert team," says Jari Almi, Vice President, Industrial Internet, Valmet.