Your suction roll, our mission - tailored services for performance excellence

We all know that suction rolls have a direct effect on end-product quality and machine runnability in the papermaking process. It’s also no secret that they consume lots of energy and water – for example around 30,000 LED light bulbs worth of electricity in drive energy and 1,5 Olympic swimming pools worth of water each month of operation.​

“Knowing all this, it is clear that keeping the suction roll in top condition pays back. With regular maintenance roll performance remains good throughout the entire roll lifecycle, leading to reliable machine line operation and improved energy efficiency. Running critical process rolls to the failure can lead to long-lasting repairs and lost production,” says Lasse Janhunen, Global Technology Manager at Valmet.

Valmet’s comprehensive suction roll service offering covers all needed service actions throughout suction roll lifecycle – from maintenance, reconditioning and grinding to roll covers, shells, and new rolls. Additionally, Valmet’s innovative upgrade solutions and on-site roll audits are available for improving suction roll performance and resolving roll-related production bottlenecks.

“We serve our customers with pride remotely, on site, and through our global network of fully-equipped Service Centers, with the ambition to improve roll reliability, roll running times, cost efficiency, energy efficiency, and safety – depending on the customer need,” Janhunen adds.

Tailored end-to-end services

Valmet values long-term relationships with their customers, as they enable a strategic and collaborative approach also to roll servicing.

“In addition to on-demand services we help our customers to understand and predict their long-term service needs. With advanced roll diagnostics tools and extensive technology know-how, we can support our customers in roll-related decision-making – whether it’s about service intervals, part replacement, technology upgrades, roll covering optimization or even completely new rolls,” Janhunen says.

“Having a long-term view on roll maintenance is known to give peace of mind, but it also helps to reduce the overall maintenance costs. By following the recommended maintenance guidelines and equipping suction rolls with state-of-the-art solutions, our customers can increase the rolls’ reliable running times significantly while reducing the number of services needed long term,” Janhunen says.

Solving customer challenges with innovative solutions

As the world-leading roll technology expert, Valmet has developed numerous innovative solutions to tackle the typical challenges with suction rolls – high axial seal wearing, shell cleanliness issues, short grinding intervals, runnability issues, and poor dewatering, to name a few. Most solutions can be utilized to upgrade existing rolls, and they have been successfully implemented at numerous customer mills around the world.

Existing rolls can be upgraded with Valmet’s latest roll innovations for enhanced performance, improved energy efficiency and extended lifetime. Roll services are provided close to the customer through Valmet’s global service network.

Lasse Janhunen brings up a couple of Valmet’s solutions that have improved the customer’s performance.

“For high axial seal wearing, we have developed a solution called Valmet Suction Roll Upgrade Lock Seal, an automated axial seal construction enabling seal strips to be relieved off from the suction roll shell during running, which improves roll energy efficiency and provides longer lifetime for suction roll axial seals and shell. The solution has been highly appreciated, and as one customer states, they ‘would install it anytime again’,” Janhunen says.

“For shell cleanliness issues, we offer Valmet Suction Roll Upgrade Shell Flow H, a high-pressure shell cleaning shower. At a tissue mill in the EMEA area, the installation of Shell Flow H led to extending roll running times from 3-4 months to 12 months,” he continues.

Tailored roll covers for enhanced process performance

Roll covers have a direct impact on the machine efficiency and paper quality, and they also have high potential for process improvements​. Valmet is known to offer the widest range of roll covers and services for any roll type and position. The latest innovations include roll covers made from recycled and bio-based materials​, a grooved roll cover for improved dewatering Valmet Press Roll Cover PE, and Valmet Press Roll Cover PD with ceramic coating for best runnability.

“Our extensive roll cover offering is designed to secure maximal process performance and production efficiency and includes a full scope of cover technologies and numerous value-adding features and services. With optimized roll covering our customers can protect their suction rolls from corrosion and wear and thus give them a longer running time. Additionally, water removal and overall process efficiency can be improved,” explains Ulla Kanerva, Global Technology Manager at Valmet.

Valmet’s roll covers provide excellent wear resistance, stable roughness and hardness, and durability in demanding operating environments, enabling trouble-free run periods together with effective dewatering. 

Expertise you can count on

Valmet’s global service network extends from the America’s to Europe, China and Asia Pacific area, and our experts are ready to serve you in all suction roll -related needs – whether it’s about keeping the roll running smoothly, bringing it to “as new” condition, or upgrading it to improved performance.

“For those seeking a stress-free life in roll operations, we recommend our roll service agreements. With the systematic approach and shared goals, you will always get the right combination of services for every stage of your roll lifecycle – and no surprises,” Janhunen says.

“Again, I would like to lift up a real-life example, a European board mill, that has relied on our roll services for over ten years. The agreement covers roll grinding, maintenance and reconditioning of key process rolls of their three board machines. We have mutually agreed KPI’s to boost roll reliability and efficiency – and our cooperation. Over this time, we’ve seen extended roll running times and improved performance, optimized servicing leading to savings in total maintenance and spare parts costs, and seamless and more transparent cooperation. As cherry on the cake, we have saved almost 50 tonnes of CO₂ thanks to less roll transportation and reduced the roll service lead time by 25% over the agreement period. Something to be proud of,” Janhunen concludes.

Text: Marianne Valta