In August 2024, MM Kotkamills’ new Sheeting Center with two sheet cutters in Kotka, Finland was inaugurated. Pesmel’s next-generation in-mill logistics and warehouse automation solution is a core part of this 30-million-euro investment.
Lean, automated processing from production to sheeting
Previously, MM Kotkamills relied entirely on external third-party companies to provide cartonboard sheeting to their customers. With the investment, the majority of the sheeting can now be done in-house at the mill site, providing an efficient process with no unnecessary or unproductive handling.
“Our new Sheeting Center with its modern technology enable automatic processing of cartonboard reels from production to sheeting,” says Marko Pekkola, Managing Director of MM Kotkamills.
“We are able to serve our customers faster and ensure even better quality of the cartonboard as the sheeting takes place in parallel with the production and the cartonboard reels do not need to be transported outside the mill for sheeting,” continues Kalle Mäkelä, Production and Maintenance Director at MM Kotkamills.
Meeting Intermediate Reel Storage requirements
The space available for this Sheeting Center and its 6,500-ton IRS (Intermediate Reel Storage) was very limited. Traditional floor stacked reel storage was too cumbersome and required too much space due to the heavy reel handling equipment needed to turn the reels from a horizontal to a vertical storing position and back again for the sheeters.
With Pesmel’s rack storage, the warehouse reels can be kept in a horizontal position all the way from the slitter winder through the IRS to the sheeter unwinding.
One vertical Stacker Crane on the side of the rack slides and lifts reels into a 14×9 array of horizontal storing channels. Reels are transferred in from production and out onto conveyors that feed them one at a time to the sheeter unwinds. The whole process is fully automated according to production schedules.
Pesmel’s TransRoll™concept enables the sheeting at the mill site
Intense data-driven cooperation between MM Kotkamills and Pesmel was required to complete the dimensioning process and to fit the IRS between the Paper Machine hall and the Sheeting Center. Firstly, the physical dimensioning of the reel warehouse and its connections was carried out. Secondly, the equipment and control system were customized to ensure the required handling capabilities. This meant running simulations with actual and target production data.
The production mix and volumes, and their impact on equipment utilization rates, were analyzed. The actual simulation was carried out using the Pesmel’s Material Flow WMS Digital Twin, which was later also used to train operators in running the system virtually. The WMS (Warehouse Management System) is the key element in integrating the information systems in the mill with the Sheeting Center in tracking the material flow and managing the online IRS inventory control.
“We chose the TransRoll™ concept because Pesmel was able to tailor an ideal solution for our specific needs, the available space was very limited.
Teemu Nikkonen, MM Kotkamills’ Strategic Development Manager.
“We chose the TransRoll™ concept because Pesmel was able to tailor an ideal solution for our specific needs,” says Teemu Nikkonen, MM Kotkamills’ Strategic Development Manager. “The available space was very limited. As the reels are moved and stored horizontally all the way, we were able to keep the system simple. The stacker crane, the only moving element in the system, handles the reel movements inside this intermediate reel storage.”
Material flow with flexibility and innovation
Pesmel’s WMS is the link that connects the entire material flow process. “Our technology is enabling something bigger,” says Kaj Fahllund, Pesmel VP Pulp & Paper. “We play a vital part in optimizing the entire process stream and improving the customers’ cost efficiency.”
For both Pesmel and MM Kotkamills, the Sheeting Center project was an example of exemplary cooperation and forward thinking on both sides. “MM Kotkamills’ investment was a great opportunity to provide the next generation in-mill logistics and warehouse automation to one of our many valued customers,” Fahllund concludes. “The project has been a perfect match between two innovative and unique companies.”
More information
Kaj Fahllund
+358 20 7009 626
kaj.fahllund@pesmel.com