The new board machine and the Sirpur unit are set to bolster JK Paper’s overall production to increase to about 8,00,000 TPA.

SK Jain, head of packaging board project, JK Paper, said, “To increase our market share on the growing Indian market, we wanted to invest in coated board technology we could rely on. For this reason, we tested the technology concepts at Valmet’s pilot facilities.”

According to Jain, the coated board technology will enable JK Paper to increase its market share in India and serve it with more local supply. The machine is scheduled to begin its operations from the end of 2020.

“We are also planning to use the piloting services to further develop our paperboard products later in the project. Valmet’s know-how on coated board-making with a long list of good references further strengthened our decision,” he added.

The machine is 4,250-mm wide and is capable of producing folding boxboard, solid bleached board, and cup and barrier board grades. In this deal, JK Paper will procure a coated board machine from the headboxes to reel with air dryers, chemical systems, heat recovery and other board making systems.

Varun Jain, director, India Region, Valmet, said, “I’m really pleased that Valmet was chosen as the main supplier in this project. In addition to board machine technologies, we will deliver a large scope of chemical systems – our first chemical system delivery in India. Our strong know-how on special coating and excellent wet-end technology references in India and other countries in Asia further contributed to reaching the agreement.”

The machine provides coatings on multiple stations, including an Opti Coat Layer coating station, which applies two coating layers simultaneously. A disc filter by Valmet’s new Mill Process Solutions Business Unit and a vast automation system package with Valmet Performance Center (VPC) services with on-demand expert support will also be included in the order.