The new paper machine will be suplied by Andritz and is said to replace three existing paper machines at the site.
French kraft and sack kraft paper manufacturer Gascogne Papier plans to install a new, big kraft paper paper machine at the Mimizan site in south-western France. According to Austria's technology group Andritz, the company has received a corresponding order from Gascogne Papier with commissioning of the new PM scheduled for 2025.
With a web width of 6.8 m and design speed of 1,300 m/min, the new paper machine is geared for a production of 125,000 tpy of unbleached (machine-glazed) MG kraft paper in basis weight of 25 to 120 g/m². This would be the "widest MG paper machine worldwide" and would "set a new industry benchmark with the highest capacity for uncoated MG papers," writes Andritz.
Gascogne Papier's Mimizan mill houses four paper machines with a total production capacity of 150,000 tpy. The company's PM 3 produces sack kraft paper in basis weights of 70-155 g/m². Paper machines PM 4, PM 5 and PM 6 produce unbleached MG kraft papers in basis weights of 32-125 g/m².
According to Andritz, the new paper machine will replace three of the mill's four paper machines. "The main target of the investment is to establish a multi-grade production line, capable of producing more than 80 different grades of ribbed and unribbed paper," Andritz explained.
