Espoo, Finland 05 May 2017 -- Valmet will supply an upgrade of the evaporation plant at BillerudKorsnäs Gruvön pulp and paper mill in Sweden. The evaporation plant in a mill concentrates black liquor from the pulp cooking process. The installation of the new equipment is scheduled for spring 2018.

The order was included in Valmet's first quarter 2017 orders received. The value of the order will not be disclosed. A project of this type and scope is typically valued below EUR 15 million.

In this project, the existing evaporation train will be converted, from using medium-pressure steam as today's heating media, to become essentially low-pressure steam driven. This will optimize the overall steam balance at the Gruvön mill by making medium pressure steam available for the mill's new liquid board machine that will be installed at the mill.

"Valmet delivered the original evaporator train in 2001 and we are happy to cooperate with BillerudKorsnäs Gruvön also for this important plant modification. This upgrade will be beneficial in many ways for Gruvön mill. Besides ensuring medium pressure steam for the new board machine, we are adding washable heating surfaces in order to improve the availability and flexibility of the upgraded evaporation plant," says Thomas Norrgård, Product Sales Manager EVAPS at Valmet.

Details about the delivery

From the evaporation plant the evaporated water is brought back to the pulp process in order to minimize mill's water consumption. After evaporation the concentrated black liquor is fired in the recovery boiler for steam generation and recovery of cooking chemicals.

New equipment to be installed includes a TUBEL evaporator, two Tube Evaporators, two liquor preheaters, and Valmet's patented LP-steam boosting system. A substantial upgrade of the piping system will also be performed as part of the plant upgrade.

About BillerudKorsnäs

BillerudKorsnäs is a leading company within renewable packaging materials. Together with their partners, the company creates smart packaging solutions. It has about 4,200 employees and seven production units, one of which is the Gruvön mill. BillerudKorsnäs head office is located in Solna, Sweden.

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2016 were approximately EUR 2.9 billion. Our 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.