In Wisconsin, Green Bay Packaging has built one of the most modern packaging paper mills in the world, starting successful production in March 2021. The facility located near the headquarters of the family-owned company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a groundbreaking project in several respects.
The testliner machine is the first new paper mill built in Wisconsin in over 35 years, creating numerous new jobs in the Lake Michigan region. Moreover, it is the first time in history that a single company Voith was awarded the contract to supply a complete production line for the U.S. paper industry.
The centerpiece of the facility is the new paper machine with a wire width of 331″ (8,400 mm) and a design speed of 3,937 fpm (1,200 m/min). The new mill will produce testliner at basis weights between 18 and 56 lbs/1000ft2 (88 and 273 g/m2). The testliner machine will produce 685,000 short tons (621,422 metric tons) per year enabling Green Bay Packaging to more than double its production capacity at the Green Bay facility.
Green Bay Packaging is relying entirely on Voith Paper to supply the technical equipment for the production facility. Since the project was implemented by a single vendor within the scope of a full-line supplier approach, there were no interface problems in any of the project phases.
In addition to the XcelLine testliner machine, the scope of supply also includes the VariFlex Performance winder with an operating speed of 3,000 m/min, the BlueLine OCC stock preparation system, as well as a reject handling system. The supplied AquaLine Flex System includes a so-called “biological kidney,” which treats the process water in such a way that it can largely be returned to the production cycle. The overall package includes a multi-year roll and clothing servicing agreement for all sections of the paper machine. Voith also supplied the MCS, DCS and QCS automation solutions.
At all points during the course of the project, we were confident that continuity between all operational segments was being achieved. It was a smooth process to integrate the many components to this mill. We had one supplier to call and Voith pulled this together very effectively.
