Kotkamills contracts ABB to supply collaborative production management system for improved quality, savings at its Kotka, Finland, paper mill

Mathew Kearney

HELSINKI , December 1, 2010 (press release) – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group will deliver a Collaborative Production Management (CPM) system to Kotkamills Oy, Finland. Kotkamills Oy manufactures matt coated printing paper and laminating papers as well as sawn products. The system supports company’s Kotka paper mill’s production planning, warehouse, quality and process information handling as well as order management, invoicing and sales. The new system will replace several previous systems and thus brings improved quality, savings and controllability to the mill’s operations.

Paper manufacturing is a complex process and there are several factors which affect to the process. In order to maximize its productivity the mill must be able to react to the possible changes in the manufacturing process immediately.

”Integrated collaborative production management system increases the visibility of the order-production-delivery process thus enabling the fast reaction time for the possible changes in the processes. The integrated solution will increase the amount and usability of the information needed in the decision making process. The optimal use of materials and production capacity increases profitability”, says Jyrki Juvonen, Production Line Manager from ABB.

”After thorough preliminary studies, Kotkamills Oy decided to replace most of its current order-delivery process systems with a new highly integrated collaborative production management system delivered by ABB. The new system will fulfill the current challenges of Kotkamills Oy by meeting the company’s needs for functionalities and cost competitiveness. Also ABB’s reputation as a reliable supplier for high quality collaborative production management systems eased the decision making process. Kotkamills Oy expects from the new system user-friendliness, operation reliability, as well as fast and reliable production and warehouse management. In addition to this the equipment and solutions are expected to bring cost savings both in maintenance costs of the new system as well as managing the processes at the mill”, says Peter Danielsbacka, Project Manager from Kotkamills Oy.

Currently over 100 pulp and paper mills worldwide use ABB’s intelligent Collaborative Production Management systems. The new system will be taken into use at the company’s Kotka mill in spring 2011.

Kotkamills Oy is a forest products company based in Finland. The company specializes in laminating papers, matt coated bulky paper and sawn products. Kotkamills Oy has two production sites in Finland and a subsidiary, L.P. Pacific Films Sdn. Bhd., in Malaysia. The company was established in July 1st, 2010 when a global private equity firm OpenGate Capital acquired the Kotka mills of Stora Enso along with Stora Enso’s laminating paper operations in Malaysia. The company employs around 500 people.

cpmPlus (www.abb.com/cpm) is ABB’s Collaborative Production Management suite of applications. cpmPlus provides process and production management, advanced optimization and connectivity solutions for the process industries.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people.

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