Many of us remember the two devastating earthquakes and numerous aftershocks that hit southeast Turkey and Syria in February this year. In addition to more than 50,000 fatalities, countless homes, schools and businesses were damaged or destroyed. At Kipaş Kağıt’s mill in Kahramanmaraş, the machine hall and board machine PM 1 were severely harmed.
Kipaş Kağıt was eager to restart the machine as soon as possible, and contacted Valmet shortly after it was possible to re-enter the mill site.
“Realigning an entire board machine after a natural catastrophe such as an earthquake is not something Valmet does every day, so I’m grateful to Kipaş Kağıt for entrusting us with this exceptional project. I believe it is the good relationship we’ve been able to build over the years and the expertise we’ve shown in our previous projects that made the customer turn to us. I’m very proud of our ability to respond to an urgent customer need like this,” says Anssi Tuuri, Director, Board and Tissue Services Operations in the EMEA area.
Entire machine line realigned
As it was initially impossible to travel to Kahramanmaraş, the discussions were started online, and the situation was evaluated using pictures and videos. The alignment work was a huge effort and took weeks to complete.
“The machine hall was badly harmed, as were the control rooms and the crane rails, and the machine had lost its original alignment. As the machine hall flooring had moved, the reference line for alignments had been lost and establishing a new reference line was very challenging. When it was done, we aligned everything in the entire machine line: rolls, headbox, dewatering elements, doctors, winder, and the runnability equipment in the dryer section. I must say it was quite an exercise,” Tuuri says.
Successful restart secured the future of the mill
Kipaş Kağıt PM 1 was successfully restarted in May 2023.
“We had mixed feelings throughout the project – we were excited for the opportunity to resume our production, but at the same time concerned for the safety of our employees and the staff working at the site. We knew that the future of our mill and our employees was highly dependent on the success of the project and appreciate Valmet’s effort and expertise throughout the project – it boosted our confidence in the challenging task and was therefore essential for the success,” Irfan Gümuşer, Mill Manager at Kipaş Kağıt.
Within Valmet, the project required exceptionally wide cooperation between different teams within the organization and across Europe. Especially for the local Sales and Operations teams in Turkey, the project offered a good foothold for the future.
“Given the situation in Turkey, Valmet reacted very quickly to this urgent customer need. The cooperation between the teams was very smooth, and despite some challenges along the way, we were able to successfully finalize the project. I believe this experience strengthened our relationship with Kipaş Kağıt, and I’m looking forward to continuing the cooperation in future,” says Cem Güner, General Sales Manager, EMEA at Valmet.
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