Greif Riverville paper mill completed US$11.4M of repairs, maintenance, capital improvements during 2023 annual outage; 10 significant projects included headbox upgrade on PM1, digester rebuild, felt cleaner installation, combination fuel boiler rebuild

August 25, 2023 (press release) –

The history here runs deeper than the water of the James River does far, but don’t let that fool you. Every year, Greif invests large sums to enhance the Riverville mill, ensuring it remains a gold standard for industrial paper production.

At least once a year, the big machines stop roaring, and the mill’s dedicated maintenance team gets to work.

During the 2023 annual outage, total repairs, maintenance, and capital improvements surpassed $11.4M. An astounding 450 contractors were on site to assist in the mill’s planned improvements. It was as much a feat of coordination as it was one of engineering improvements for the mill.

The 2023 annual outage included ten significant projects that were completed.

Paper machine #1 received a carefully orchestrated headbox upgrade, enhancing reliability and uptime.

The digester underwent a rebuild, improving the operation and reducing costs.

Felt cleaner installation helps to minimize defects in the sheet and dryer breaks from debris buildup.

The combination fuel boiler rebuild included a new electrostatic precipitator with a modern design to improve recovery boiler emissions and an upgraded boiler unit to fire 30,000#/hour more steam from bark and other biomass versus natural gas.

 

TIMELAPSE: Riverville reel and winder replacement

Watch a detailed and comprehensive replacement of Riverville’s PM1 reel and winder in just a few minutes. 

Watch Video

 

Recent Improvements at Greif Riverville

PAPER MACHINE 1 (PM1)

New Winder on PM1 (with Reel upgrade)

• Ability to run the winder over 8000 FPM, improved safety and controls, and more automated in the process

 

Reel Upgrade (2019) 

• Reduce Waste – increased production by 14.8 tons per day, more automation with better controls

 

Dryer Doctors (2022) 

• Reduce sheet contamination, reduce breaks on machine by 12 per month

 

Dryer Felt Cleaning Showers (June 2023) 

• Improved cross-direction and machine-direction moisture profiles, reduced sheet contaminants

 

High-Speed Camera Upgrade (Fall 2022) 

• Improved sheet break detection that reduces downtime by allowing operators to pinpoint the source of downtime

 

Headbox Upgrade (April 2023)

• Replacement to allow the machine to run at higher speeds
• improved cross-machine direction basis weight profiles

 

Dock Guardian Barriers (2023) 

• Improve safety at loading docks

 

PAPER MACHINE 2 (PM2)

PM2 Ribbon Roll System Upgrade (2022) 

• Installed the ability to manufacture and ship ribbon rolls

 

Distributed Control System Upgrade

• Better communications equipment allows for more effective control of systems (April 2023)

 

Infrastructure maintenance

• Crane Painting, building steel (Joe has pictures)

 

FUTURE-PM2 Drives Winder Conversion

• Replace obsolete equipment, improved speed controls (2024) 

 

FUTURE-PM2 Drives Upgrade

• Top and Bottom Ply Fan Pumps Replace obsolete equipment, improve speed controls (2025) 

 

COMBINATION FUEL BOILER

Steam Drum Dryer Upgrade

• Allow the Boiler to steam at a higher rate
• Allows the mill to burn more bark and less natural gas

 

Superheater Tube Replacement (April 2023) 

• Replacement of tubes that have a buildup
• Allowing more efficient steam production

 

Lab Upgrades (2023)

• Improvements to allow for improved aesthetics and a better testing environment.

 

RECOVERY BOILER

Stack bottom Replacement (July 2022) 

• Replace the bottom of the stack to extend the life

 

Electrostatic Precipitator 1st field(April 2023) 

• Change from wire to readily accessible plate design
• State-of-the-art microprocessor-based control systems-more effective particle removal

 

Recovery Boiler Ash Evacuation(April 2023)

• Better collection of ash
• Higher chemical recovery

 

ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Poles and power to Groundskeeper building

• Replacement of old rotting power poles.

 

Water Supply Electrical 

• Raised the MCC for the river pumps up to the 100-year flood level, increasing the reliability of the water supply to the mill.

 

Waste Water Treatment Plant Electrical 

• Replacement for old MCC brought up to current standards.

 

Aeration Pond MCC Replacement

• Replacement for old MCC brought up to current standards. 

 

Liquor Prep MCC 27-7500 

• Replacement for old MCC brought up to current standards.

Nestled in a lush valley along the James River sits the Riverville Mill. This is no average paper mill – Greif Riverville is a modern city of papermaking on a sprawling park-like 1500 acres.

The history here runs deeper than the water of the James River does far, but don’t let that fool you. Every year, Greif invests large sums to enhance the Riverville mill, ensuring it remains a gold standard for industrial paper production.

At least once a year, the big machines stop roaring, and the mill’s dedicated maintenance team gets to work.

During the 2023 annual outage, total repairs, maintenance, and capital improvements surpassed $11.4M. An astounding 450 contractors were on site to assist in the mill’s planned improvements. It was as much a feat of coordination as it was one of engineering improvements for the mill.

The 2023 annual outage included ten significant projects that were completed.

Paper machine #1 received a carefully orchestrated headbox upgrade, enhancing reliability and uptime.

The digester underwent a rebuild, improving the operation and reducing costs.

Felt cleaner installation helps to minimize defects in the sheet and dryer breaks from debris buildup.

The combination fuel boiler rebuild included a new electrostatic precipitator with a modern design to improve recovery boiler emissions and an upgraded boiler unit to fire 30,000#/hour more steam from bark and other biomass versus natural gas.

TIMELAPSE: Riverville reel and winder replacement

Watch a detailed and comprehensive replacement of Riverville’s PM1 reel and winder in just a few minutes. 

Recent Improvements at Greif Riverville

PAPER MACHINE 1 (PM1)

New Winder on PM1 (with Reel upgrade)

• Ability to run the winder over 8000 FPM, improved safety and controls, and more automated in the process

Reel Upgrade (2019) 

• Reduce Waste – increased production by 14.8 tons per day, more automation with better controls

Dryer Doctors (2022) 

• Reduce sheet contamination, reduce breaks on machine by 12 per month

Dryer Felt Cleaning Showers (June 2023) 

• Improved cross-direction and machine-direction moisture profiles, reduced sheet contaminants

High-Speed Camera Upgrade (Fall 2022) 

• Improved sheet break detection that reduces downtime by allowing operators to pinpoint the source of downtime

Headbox Upgrade (April 2023)

• Replacement to allow the machine to run at higher speeds
• improved cross-machine direction basis weight profiles

Dock Guardian Barriers (2023) 

• Improve safety at loading docks

PAPER MACHINE 2 (PM2)

PM2 Ribbon Roll System Upgrade (2022) 

• Installed the ability to manufacture and ship ribbon rolls

Distributed Control System Upgrade

• Better communications equipment allows for more effective control of systems (April 2023)

Infrastructure maintenance

• Crane Painting, building steel (Joe has pictures)

FUTURE-PM2 Drives Winder Conversion

• Replace obsolete equipment, improved speed controls (2024) 

FUTURE-PM2 Drives Upgrade

• Top and Bottom Ply Fan Pumps Replace obsolete equipment, improve speed controls (2025) 

COMBINATION FUEL BOILER

Steam Drum Dryer Upgrade

• Allow the Boiler to steam at a higher rate
• Allows the mill to burn more bark and less natural gas

Superheater Tube Replacement (April 2023) 

• Replacement of tubes that have a buildup
• Allowing more efficient steam production

Lab Upgrades (2023)

• Improvements to allow for improved aesthetics and a better testing environment.

RECOVERY BOILER

Stack bottom Replacement (July 2022) 

• Replace the bottom of the stack to extend the life

Electrostatic Precipitator 1st field(April 2023) 

• Change from wire to readily accessible plate design
• State-of-the-art microprocessor-based control systems-more effective particle removal

Recovery Boiler Ash Evacuation(April 2023)

• Better collection of ash
• Higher chemical recovery

ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Poles and power to Groundskeeper building

• Replacement of old rotting power poles.

Water Supply Electrical 

• Raised the MCC for the river pumps up to the 100-year flood level, increasing the reliability of the water supply to the mill.

Waste Water Treatment Plant Electrical 

• Replacement for old MCC brought up to current standards.

Aeration Pond MCC Replacement

• Replacement for old MCC brought up to current standards. 

Liquor Prep MCC 27-7500 

• Replacement for old MCC brought up to current standards.

Share this:

Greif is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services — pursuing its vision to be the best performing customer service company in the world.

QUICK LINKS

Locations
About Greif
Products
Services
Sustainability
Careers
Investors

Follow Us

Subscribe

Stay up-to-date with the latest innovations and news at Greif.

© Copyright 2023 Greif. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy | CA Policy | Terms of Sale | Transparency in Supply Chain Disclosure | App Terms and Conditions | Compliance Policies | Code of Conduct | eBiz | Quality Documents | Accessibility Statement | AR Resouce

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.