Valmet expands its valve maintenance contracts with Suzano

Valmet has expanded its Flow Control partnership with Suzano with the signing of a new valve maintenance agreement contract for the Suzano Limeira (SP) plant. The agreement builds on the companies' existing partnership and will run for an initial two-year period, supported by a dedicated team of 12 on-site specialists and one remote specialist in predictive analytics.

The scope of the contract includes approximately 12 thousand valves, along with positioners and limit switches. The team has been working at the unit since December, monitoring operational routines, coordinating prescriptive, preventive, and corrective maintenance activities, and supporting the optimization of valve performance.

The service is structured around 3 pillars of digitization focused on availability, performance, and application engineering and reliability. The remote specialist uses Industrial Internet applications such as ValvesNow, Nelscope, Fieldcare, and Nelprof for predictive monitoring, seeking to anticipate failures and ensure operational reliability.

Contract management and information flow are handled through the Valmet Customer Portal, a platform that centralizes technical documents, data on the installed base, and alerts related to valve performance.

Expansion of the number of resident technicians strengthens partnership with Suzano

The resident technician service model has become well established in pulp and paper mills, where operational reliability and efficient asset management are critical. The expansion of the contract in Limeira follows the experience that began in 2025 at the Suzano unit in Ribas do Rio Pardo (MS), which has approximately 3,200 employees and a team of four residents.

With the new contract, Suzano broadens the scope of the services, adopting a larger team and reinforcing its strategy of continuous asset monitoring. The initiative reflects a drive for greater predictability in maintenance and more structured management of the installed base.

"Valmet is one of the pioneers in this flow control service format and today has more than 30 resident specialists in Brazil, working in plants across different industries. Our experience, combined with the company's technical expertise and global network, has enabled the model to be successfully implemented and consolidated over time,” says Anderson Lopes, Services Manager for the Flow Control business area at Valmet. According to Lopes, the pulp and paper sector was among the first to adopt this type of service contract, which now delivers concrete results in performance and reliability.

The responsibilities of the resident technicians include daily monitoring of valves, early identification of potential failures, and support in defining corrective actions. They also provide technical recommendations for improvements in equipment installation and performance, based on operational data and maintenance history.

“Our specialists work continuously at the plant, closely monitoring operations and maintenance, carrying out repairs, and collaborating with the local team,” explains Renato Gardiman, Service Coordinator for the Flow Control business area at Valmet. He notes that their daily presence enables a deeper technical understanding of the assets and the production process, as well as faster responses to any deviations.

According to Gardiman, the targets were met in the first month of the contract. “Achieving this result right at the start demonstrates our commitment, dedication, and the team’s rapid integration, overcoming the many challenges that typically arise in the early stages of a new contract,” he concludes.

For more information, please contact Renato Gardiman renato.gardiman@valmet.com, Service coordinator, Flow Control business area, Valmet