PR Rolls excels at a modification of dryer section at Sappi Group’s board mill in South Africa

In the spring, PR Rolls performed a modification of a board machine’s dryer section at the Sappi Group’s Tugela Mill in South Africa. PR Rolls carried out the drilling of the board machine’s dryer cylinders to convert them into vacuum rolls for the dryer section. Three of the cylinders were drilled while they were installed on the board machine. The remaining five cylinders were drilled in the workshop on a temporary jig built specifically for drilling. “The work went smoothly and we had excellent cooperation with the client. Together with the factory representatives, we were able to solve all the minor problems that arose on schedule and without having to extend the shutdown,” says Jani Westerlund, CEO of PR Rolls. Sappi Southern Africa operates five mills, with a combined production capacity of 86,000 m³ sawn timber, 660,000 tons of paper, 645,000 tons of paper pulp and over a million tons of dissolving pulp per year. Tugela Mill has been in operation since 1945 and is currently the oldest purpose-built mill in the Sappi Group. The mill produces pulp for its own consumption, corrugating medium (containerboard) and lignosulphonate for export.