GF has signed an agreement to acquire VAG-Group, headquartered in Mannheim (Germany), a renowned global manufacturer and supplier of water utility valve solutions. The transaction is a next step toward GF’s vision of becoming the global leader in Flow Solutions and allows GF to leverage its market position in the infrastructure sector, especially in Europe and the Middle East.
Valmet is to deliver a disc filter refurbishment and reinstallation to Holmen Paper’s Braviken Paper Mill in Sweden. The delivery includes refurbishing and modifying an existing disc filter from the mill’s deinked pulp line (DIP) and reinstalling it in the mill’s thermomechanical pulp line (TMP). The refurbished disc filter will be equipped with Valmet Disc Filter Bags. The order was included in Valmet’s orders received of the first quarter 2025. The value of the order will not be disclosed.
The Navigator Company has approved the final investment decision of €30?million to convert its PM3 (Paper Machine No.?3), located at the integrated Pulp, Paper and Packaging complex in Setúbal. With this project, the Company reinforces its position in the European market for flexible packaging papers (kraft papers), establishing itself as one of the sector’s benchmark producers.
Fripa Papierfabrik Albert Friedrich has started up a TT NextPress shoe press supplied by Toscotec at their Miltenberg mill in Germany. The new shoe press has been operating efficiently for a few months and has fully achieved the targets of the rebuild. Resulting from R&D activities in cooperation with Voith, Toscotec’s new generation design of TT NextPress shoe press delivers superior dewatering performances and energy savings. It ensures a stable after-press dryness rate of more than 45% on a tissue line operating at a speed of 2,100 m/min, thereby guaranteeing a substantial energy consumption reduction, due to the fact that the Yankee and the hoods use significantly less thermal energy to complete the drying process.
Full-line supplier Voith has successfully completed the rebuild of the PM 11 at the heinzelpaper plant in Laakirchen, enabling the XcelLine paper machine to produce up to 470,000 tons of corrugated base paper per year. The conversion from graphic papers to corrugated base papers marks a significant milestone for the Austrian company, which looks back on a longstanding partnership with Voith.
In this energy-intensive industry, paper makers and their suppliers are under increasing pressure to be globally competitive while protecting the environment. In order to meet sustainable, ecological and resource-efficient requirements, emtec Electronic offers innovative measuring devices whose use enables informed decision-making, resulting in superior product quality, fewer rejects, reduced machine stops, and lower resource consumption.
The teams from Steinbeis Papier in Glückstadt and GAW technologies GmbH recently successfully commissioned a new starch processing plant. With an annual capacity of around 300,000 tons of recycled paper and 350 employees, Steinbeis Papier operates one of the most modern ecologically-integrated paper mills in the recycled paper industry and sets standards in sustainability. The product portfolio includes printing and copy papers, coated offset papers, as well as digital printing and label papers.
Bösendorfer is one of the world's oldest and most revered piano manufacturers. The Viennese company has been manufacturing unique upright and grand pianos since 1828. Bösendorfer's high standards of quality, design and perfection in the construction of keyboard instruments is beautifully captured in their latest product catalogue. Printed on the luxurious Pergraphica® design paper from Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, the catalogue is a tactile delight. The paper’s subtly understated shading and sumptuous surface perfectly complement the elegance of Bösendorfer instruments.
Toscotec will supply an Ahead 1.8 tissue line to the Dominican Group César Iglesias at its production base in Santo Domingo. This is a repeat order for Toscotec who in 2019 started up a TT SYD Steel Yankee Dryer on their PM1 as a replacement of an existing cast iron cylinder. The start-up is planned for 2026.
The Rugao BM 13 has achieved its Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) in an impressive 11 months of start-up. This milestone not only demonstrates the impressive performance of Voith but also the strength of the partnership with Asia Symbol and the high efficiency of Voith’s full-line approach.
The Incada family of Folding Box Board offers customers value that goes beyond the physical qualities of the paperboard itself. This essence of the product has been captured in a unique new sales toolkit which showcases Incada’s inspiring story. Produced at Holmen Board and Paper’s Workington Mill in the UK, Incada is used primarily for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food applications.
Doctor of Technology, Professor Antti Arjas passed away on Saturday, March 8, 2025, in Espoo due to a rapidly progressing illness.
Arjas was born on December 16, 1940, in Helsinki to the engineer family of Olavi and Kaja Arjas. He graduated from Tampere High School in 1959 and began his studies at Helsinki University of Technology. Arjas was the ?rst in Finland to earn a doctorate in paper technology under the legendary Professor Niilo Ryti in 1970. Antti Arjas married Anneli Höckert in 1962, and they got three daughters. After Anneli's death in 2006, Antti found a new partner, Marketta, with whom he shared a happy marriage for 18 years.