1Major revision of CEPI's forest
certification matrix

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) is currently revising its comparative matrix of forest certification schemes which will ensure that it reflects the latest thinking on forest certification and takes account of the views of as wide a range of stakeholders as possible. Launched in April 2000 and updated in November 2000, the matrix aims to provide reliable information to forest, paper and wood product users and other interested parties on the status of individual certification schemes and labels issued under these schemes.

Marie S Arwidson, Director General of CEPI said: "This CEPI initiative, the first of its kind, has gained widespread international attention since its launch. Some 20,000 copies of the matrix have been distributed worldwide and CEPI is committed to ensuring that the structure and content of the matrix is up-to-date. This is why we are currently revising the matrix based on the advice and comments of leading experts, stakeholders and interest groups who are being invited to give their views on its structure, content and future. We will then commission a synthesis of all comments and, if the need exists, host a final meeting. However, the ultimate aim is to hand the entire process over to a suitable independent organisation who would carry the project forward."

When CEPI developed the matrix, the intention was not to judge the merits of individual certification schemes. Instead, the matrix was designed to provide a transparent framework, which would enable buyers of paper and wood products to compare the features of certification schemes against credibility principles and to draw their own conclusions. The matrix describes forest certification schemes against criteria and indicators (C&I) and provides an "at a glance" benchmarking of forest certification systems. The C&I are based on widely accepted definitions of credibility and on a thorough analysis of the elements of certification schemes that will contribute to market acceptability, including independence, participation, transparency, commercial viability and the scope of standards in relation to internationally recognised principles for sustainable forest management.

The current review intends to explore the structure of the matrix and the criteria and indicators on which it is based; the method of data acquisition; the content of the matrix; the scope, structure and contents of forest certification systems; and the institutional framework for gathering, analysing and distributing comparative information on forest certification schemes.

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) is a non-profit-making organisation, representing 18 member countries (13 European Union Member States plus Norway and Switzerland with three Associate Members, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and through its member countries, some 1,000 pulp-, paper and board-producing companies across Europe, from small and medium-sized enterprises to multinationals

Based in Brussels, CEPI represents the interests of the European pulp and paper industry to the European institutions. CEPI monitors and analyses EU legislation and initiatives taken at EU level in the fields of industrial, environmental, energy, forestry, recycling, and fiscal policies. It provides a forum for its members to exchange information and to act on emerging issues, to define common positions and to make expert and constructive contributions to the industry consultation process required by the European Treaties.

CEPI possesses a wide source of information on the pulp and paper industry in Europe, and, through its members, can provide information on the industry in individual Member States. It provides technical assistance to legislators, and can identify independent experts to answer specific questions.  

Metso Paper has received an approx. EUR 20 million order from AssiDomän Frövi mill in Sweden. Metso Paper’s chemical pulping lines will supply a digesting process for the production of pulp for bleaching. The rebuilt process is scheduled to operate in the summer of 2002.

The current annual capacity at the mill’s bleaching line is approx. 100,000 tonnes bleached pulp of birch and softwood. The new cooking process, comprising of three 300 m³ digesters, is designed for an annual capacity of approx. 175,000 tonnes hardwood or softwood pulp in campaigns. The delivery is a turn-key package excluding civil works and the DCS (distributed control system) hardware.

The investment will enable the mill to improve the high quality of the bleached pulp and also the possibility of future capacity increases. The investment will also lead to cost reductions such as lower energy requirements, lower chemical consumption and higher pulp yield.

AssiDomän’s production is focused on packaging paper, packaging, sawn timber and wood processing. The Group is one of Europe’s largest listed forest-owning companies with 2.4 million hectares of productive forest land. In 2000, the net turnover were SEK 24, 643 millions and the employee headcount was some 12,000.

Metso Corporation is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems. Corporation’s fiber and paper technology business area, Metso Paper, is the world’s leading supplier of technology, systems and equipment for the pulp, paper, converting and panelboard industries. Metso’s other core businesses are divided between Metso Minerals (rock and mineral processing) and Metso Automation (automation and control technology). In 2000, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 3.9 billion, and the personnel totaled approximately 22,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.

In July 2000, Portucel Empresa Produtora de Pasta e Papel S.A., Setubal, Portugal, placed an order with Voith Paper for the rebuild of PM 3, delivered in 1991 by another manufacturer. The Portuguese paper producer manufactures 275,000 tons of printing and writing paper per annum at the mill in Setubal. The main rebuild goals were to increase the operating speed and raise production.

Besides first-class references for upgrades in the dryer section area, the guaranteed short rebuild time of only eight days was decisive in awarding the order to Voith Paper.

With the help of the new ropeless tail transfer system (based on the Voith DryStar™ concept) and additional web stabilizers, the downtime due to sheet breaks was considerably reduced. Also included in the rebuild were two water-jet tail cutters.

Start-up in January 2001 was accomplished without any problems - PM 3 was installed with excellent teamwork and put into operation with a start-up speed of 1030 m/min. Just two months later, the rebuild goal had been reached: PM 3 attained the targeted operating speed of 1200 m/min in March 2001.

This rebuild shows that Voith Paper is a strong partner to the papermaking industry for optimization rebuilds of any kind. Voith is on the way to becoming the world’s preferred process supplier to the paper industry.

Voith has gained comprehensive experience ranging from fiber technology to converting and printing technology and develops solutions that cover the entire production process from the fiber to the finished paper. The products, systems and services offered by Voith Paper, Voith Fabrics and Voith´s strategic partners are seamlessly integrated and help the paper industry in optimizing their production processes and improving paper quality.             

The new Voith Paper Service Center, in Karawang, 60 km east of Jakarta, on the Island of Java, was officially inaugurated on April 17, 2001.This service center has a floor area of approximately 7,000 m2 and offers Voith Paper’s entire service line along with complete roll service.

The rubber preparation and covering systems have already been in operation since early February. Beginning October 1, 2001, polyurethane covers will be offered and, in 2002, covers made from composite materials will also be available.Rolls up to 12 meters long and weighing up to 100 tons can be machined on the very modern systems. The concept and technology of the European Voith Paper locations were transferred to the Indonesian operations.

With the addition of this service center, Voith Paper is again showing the significance it attaches to the Asian paper industry. This follows the Asian paper industry’s endeavor to have high-class technology available within short distances.

In addition to the covering of rolls with a great variety of materials, mechanical roll service will also be offered in Karawang for suction press, floating, Nipco, anti-deflection and spreader rolls. With an investment of 12 million US$ and the targeted hiring of 120 employees,

Voith Paper will be able to serve the region of Southeast Asia, Korea, Taiwan, India, Australia and New Zealand with the latest technology, short manufacturing and delivery times with greater flexibility, and a very high quality level from this Service Center.With this investment, Voith Paper makes it clear that, besides its role as preferred process supplier, it aims to become the world’s preferred service company for the paper industry.  

Following successful optimization measures within the last nine months on the Haindl machines, Steyrermühl PM 4 and Schwedt PM 11, the third largest Haindl paper machine (PM 7), has also been substantially modernized.

In a period of only seven days, Voith Paper successfully rebuilt PM 7 at Haindl Papier, in Schongau (supplied by Voith in 1989), and put it back into operation by the contractual deadline.The rebuild objectives were met in every way - quality, efficiency and the expected production increase were reached.

In Schongau, Haindl Papier produces standard newsprint from 80% deinked recovered paper and 20% TMP. PM 7 was designed for an operating speed of 1400 m/min and already reached an average speed of 1560 m/min before the rebuild. Through these optimization measures, PM 7 will secure itself a firm place in the "Top 5" in productivity worldwide.

Continuous speed increases since start-up of the rebuild of PM 7 at the end of April 2001, resulted in the production speed limit of 1600 m/min. This speed was reached on a daily average after just two weeks. The capacity will increase by 13,000 metric tons of newsprint per annum.

Voith Paper carried out the following rebuild measures:

• Retrofitting of the headbox with a ModuleJet™ unit. This improves CD profile and fiber orientation, especially at the edges and, thus, printability and runnability in the printing press.

• A stabilization of the web run in the first dryer groups was attained by the installation of DuoStabilizers.

• To definitely reach the speed target, the fifth dryer group was designed as a single-tier section and was provided with DuoStabilizers.

• The approach flow system was appropriately adapted to the rebuild measures and optimized.

The good cooperation with the customer, excellent project planning and preparation, assurance of the complete delivery of all parts before shutdown of the machine and quality control at Voith Paper during the manufacturing phase were decisive factors for trouble-free project handling.

With an investment of approximately DM 17 million, this is the largest rebuild of PM 7 since the start-up in 1989. Voith is on the way to becoming the world’s preferred process supplier to the paper industry.

Voith has gained comprehensive experience ranging from fiber technology to converting and printing technology and develops solutions that cover the entire production process from the fiber to the finished paper. The products, systems and services offered by Voith Paper, Voith Fabrics and Voith´s strategic partners are seamlessly integrated and help the paper industry in optimizing their production processes and improving their paper quality. 

Sun Paper Company Ltd., Shandong, P.R. China, has purchased a new stock prep system from Thermo Black Clawson. The complete system consists of a 350 tonnes/day filler system, a 125 tonnes/day under layer system, and a 125 tonnes/day back layer system. The three systems that make up the project include two Hi-Con Pulpers, a DR Hydrapulper, two Hydrapurge III detrashing systems, a Hydrapurge II detrashing system, a Float Purger stock cleaning system, Ultra-V coarse and fine screens, Mini-Pressure screens, Liquid Cyclone cleaners, Ultra-Clone forward cleaners, XTREME reverse cleaners, XX-Clone through flow cleaners, and a MAC deinking cell. Prior to this current installation, Sun Paper upgraded their existing back layer and under layer systems with Thermo Black Clawson equipment in 2000.

The new stock prep system is being installed to produce white board on a new 200,000 tons/yr paper machine. The filler system portion of the project, which processes MW furnish, has already completed a successful start-up in March of 2001. The under layer system is scheduled for start-up in June 2001, and the back layer system start-up is scheduled for July 2001. The back layer and under layer systems will process ONP. The additional line will bring Sun Paper’s capacity to 460,000 tons/yr of white board.

Thermo Black Clawson Inc. is a complete fiberline process equipment supplier based in Middletown, Ohio, and leads the industry in the design and manufacture of equipment used in paper recycling, chemical pulp and papermachine approach flow systems. The multi-national company is a subsidiary of Thermo Fibertek Inc., a public subsidiary of Thermo Electron Corporation.