Voith Paper paper Machine Exceeds 2000 m/min at Hürth, Germany

Heidenheim, Germany, 26 July 2006 -- Following an flawless world record run, the new PM 1 machine at Hürth, Germany, set a further record for standard 100% DIP newsprint production of 2010 m/min over a period of several hours.

At 6:00 p.m. on 18 July 2006 a new production world record of 1954 m/min was reached. Over a 24-hour period different newsprints with basis weights of 42-45 g/m² and good quality levels were produced. Although a grade change was made, the total downtime was only 27 minutes. The specific production values, at 1200 kg/cm/day, or 2.8 km²/m/day, far exceeded the previous record values.

The PM 1 is equipped with machine clothing and QualiFlex press sleeves from Voith Paper at critical positions.

Motivated by the unproblematic record run and aided by Voith Paper's innovative quality control technology, the team then attempted to reach the 2000 m/min limit, reaching a speed of 2010 m/min within minutes.

Startup of PM 1 was completed by Rhein Papier and Voith in July 2002. Since then a number of world records were achieved on the machine. The paper machine is built for an average operating speed of 1800 m/min; the design speed is 2200 m/min.

Voith Paper is a division of the Voith Group and one of the leading partners to the paper industry. More than one third of the world's paper production is produced on Voith Paper machines.

Voith has approximately 30,000 employees, a turnover of EURO 3.5 billion, and more than 200 locations world-wide. Voith is one of Europe's largest family-owned companies.