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ABB to equip new Quebec pulp mill with drives and quality control

Chantiers Chibougamau has selected ABB to help overhaul its new Nordic Kraft pulp mill in Lebel-sur-Quévillion, Quebec.

The order comprises the delivery and integration of a new drives system and ABB Ability quality management system (QMS).

This includes integrating ABB’s web imaging system (WIS) and web monitoring system (WMS) into the ABB Ability System 800xA distributed control system (DCS).

The company will also provide a service contract and remote connection for diagnostic and service activity.

“We wanted a reliable and flexible way to make this mill, inoperative for 15 years, more productive and profitable,” says Dany Bellemare, senior electrical engineer and reliability/plant upgrading project manager at Nordic Kraft, in a statement.

The project will help to transform the Nordic Kraft mill, which was acquired by Chantiers Chibougamau in 2018 and is expected to start production this year.

The mill will become a modern, efficient and fully integrated digital site, equipped for the first time with complete quality control. The new solutions will accelerate Nordic Kraft’s issue identification and produce semi-autonomous responses to conditions with the goal of fewer quality rejects.

“We worked closely with the mill to ensure that everything we supply has a clear benefit in terms of quality control and ease of operability,” says John Roberts, market segment manager for pulp and paper at ABB.

“Remote monitoring, diagnostic and issue resolution means Nordic Kraft can head off problems before they arise and optimize production to make more on-spec kraft pulp.”

As part of the ABB Ability QMS, the order includes a new NP1200 scanner with online sensors for moisture, brightness and basis weight, which provides the detailed information needed for optimal machine direction (MD) and cross direction (CD) weight control.

The QMS also includes a WIS installation with web imaging dirt count and a WMS with eight cameras, all designed to provide operators with full visibility over production with integrated online measurement, process and quality controls and defect detection.