Excellent quality, superior performance and high profitabilty

Valmet headboxes for board and paper machines

Valmet headbox family comprises an optimal selection of paper machine headboxes to meet various production requirements in paper and board making. New innovative headbox solutions, combined with the precise dimensioning know-how of today, raise the performance of your paper machine to a totally new level. Valmet headbox family provides excellent end-product quality, higher productivity, lower life cycle costs and a secure investment.

Discover Valmet headbox selection

Get to know our two headbox product families: OptiFlo headboxes and IntelliJet V headboxes. Click on the links below to read and find out more on our headbox solutions.

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Superior performance with Valmet headboxes

The headbox plays a key role in producing high-quality paper and board products. Designed to produce perfect visual appearence with good profiles accross the entire machine, Valmet headboxes deliver improved paper quality and increased machine productivity. Production and quality targets can be reached more quickly after start-up - and with fewer web breaks and less broke. This means high machine efficiency and a rapid return on your investment.

The keywords of a properly functioning headbox are uniformity and profiles. The hydraulic performance of the headbox mainly determines the properties of the paper. The headbox controls the web’s profiles and helps to establish paper properties such as formation.

Qualities of a great headbox include distributing stock uniformly across the forming section, without disturbances, and imparting sufficient turbulence to the flow to keep the fibers dispersed. Equally important factors are that the headbox is easy and simple to operate and remain clean during operation.

Headbox solution for your specific need

Valmet headbox family offers all application methods and all paper machine sizes available - Fourdrinier, layering Fourdrinier, Gap, and layering Gap headboxes as well as the new innovative aqua layering technology that makes it possible to produce a two-layer sheet with very good layer coverage using only one headbox and forming unit.

Valmet Paper Technology Center provides the world's most comprehensive offering of testing and piloting services to paper and board manufacturers worldwide. We offer the opportunity to experiment and develop paper and board products and processes without having to put your own production on hold. This is a very cost-efficient compared to expensive tests in your own production.

Our pilot facilities have the entire paper machine process covered providing customers with excellent service and reliable results to support investment decisions. Your R&D team is warmly welcome to join our experts to develop the optimal configuration to support your papermaking demands also in the future.

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Learn more about OptiFlo headboxes

The OptiFlo headbox family introduces a new level of performance, with modular construction developed to meet the increasing productivity and quality requirements of high-quality paper and board machines. The OptiFlo headbox family combines proven technology with new ideas.

OptiFlo's advanced design simplifies later upgrades, making possible to handle changing production needs or introduce new control technology with minimal disruption to production. The headbox ensures optimum utilization, even if production or quality targets change.

OptiFlo Fourdrinier headbox

The innovative design of OptiFlo Fourdrinier headbox provides the greatest floc breaking ability and flattest profiles available on the market. That ensures that the paper and board products you make is of optimal quality. All the features of the headbox have been carefully designed to increase machine productivity, while keeping daily operating costs in control.

OptiFlo Layering Fourdrinier headbox

OptiFlo Layering Fourdrinier tackles the board makers’ challenges in combining lower basis weights, faster speeds and higher ash contents resulting from the increased use of recycled fiber. This provides excellent layer coverage, considerably lower residual variation in basis weight as well as an excellent formation.

OptiFlo Gap headbox

The key elements of the OptiFlo Gap headbox are its redesigned headbox turbulence generator and slice channel. These allow a consistent and disturbance-free slice jet. The objective of the OptiFlo Gap headbox is to achieve optimal fiber suspension fluidization and to maintain optimal fluidization without disturbance across the forming section.

OptiFlo Layering Gap headbox

The OptiFlo Layering Gap headbox can produce a two-ply sheet using one headbox and one gap forming unit. This headbox technology ensures excellent layer coverage without any mixing of individual layers, which is important for layered board products.

Aqua layering technology

This technology uses a thin water layer as a headbox wedge to stabilize layers while layers of stratified paper are being joined together. It prevents mixing of stock layers and also enables feeding of functional additives between the stock layers. Combine with OptiFlo Layering Fourdrinier and OptiFlo Layering Gap headboxes.

Learn more about IntelliJet V headboxes

IntelliJet V headbox

Constantly evolving, the IntelliJet V is the result of many years of engineering innovation. Refined hydraulic geometry provides equal web formation and all of the features, including advanced customization, are designed for the best possible paper quality.

Watch our headbox related reference and product videos

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Umka Board Mill rebuilds - 70% more capacity and enhanced quality

Apr 14, 2025

Watch the video to learn more about how Umka Board Mill transformed its operations with three major rebuild projects by Valmet. These rebuilds increased Umka’s production capacity by nearly 70% and significantly improved board quality, enabling them to meet market demands and attract new customers.

Successful market expansion through grade conversion rebuild – Cascades Containerboard Packaging – Bear Island

Dec 10, 2024

Video: Valmet was chosen as the selected partner by Cascades for their strategic market expansion project in southeastern U.S. They acquired an old newsprint machine that was converted to produce lightweight, high-quality, 100% recycled linerboard and corrugating medium for the North American market.

Board and Paper Pilot Trials at Valmet Paper Technology Center in Jyväskylä

Sep 12, 2022

Experience our Board and Paper pilot facility in Jyväskylä, Finland, where you can pilot and test latest paper machine technologies. The board and paper pilot facility has two pilot machines, machine sections from headbox to drying and it covers all paper and board grades.

Customer's voice: Dilution control headbox reduced grammage deviation and improved paper strength

Oct 17, 2021

"Just plug and play, start the systems, and get extraordinary good quality out of the PM34." , said Thomas Gehring, Mill manager at Ahlstrom-Munksjö Dettingen Mill after successfull wet end rebuild of their PM34.

Read our latest customer success stories about Valmet headbox deliveries

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Optimized for high efficiency and low consumption

Jun 30, 2025

PM 1 at Sun Paper’s Beihai mill is a fine paper production line and a showcase for Sun Paper’s pulp and paper integration strategy.

Yueyang Forest & Paper’s papermaking line PM 11: World record start-up through great cooperation

Jun 11, 2025

In response to evolving market demand and national policies, Yueyang Forest & Paper decided to seize an opportunity by investing in a new papermaking line, PM 11. This state-of-the-art machine line, with an annual production capacity of 450,000 tonnes of uncoated woodfree paper, includes a complete stock preparation line and a full paper machine, from headbox to reel and winders.

Umka Board Mill increases capacity by 70 percent with three rebuilds

Apr 14, 2025

Umka Board Mill invested in three large rebuild projects, selecting Valmet as the main supplier. The rebuilds increased their capacity by nearly 70 percent and significantly improved board quality. As a result, Umka now meets the market’s demanding expectations and is attracting new business and customers.

Flexibility and stable quality for specialty paper production with new headbox

Mar 31, 2025

Specialty paper manufacturer Papelera de Brandia, S.A. was facing declining market shares. They invested in a new OptiFlo Fourdrinier headbox that has enabled them to improve and stabilize product quality as well as improve productivity. This has resulted in better competitiveness and in increased market shares.

Successful market expansion through grade conversion rebuild – Cascades Containerboard Packaging – Bear Island

Dec 10, 2024

Article: Cascades selected Valmet as their partner for a strategic market expansion project in southeastern U.S. An old newsprint machine was acquired and converted to produce lightweight, high-quality, 100% recycled linerboard and corrugating medium for the North American market.

Aiming for net-zero with every decision – VPK Group’s grade conversion in Alizay, France

Sep 23, 2024

After successful collaboration in converting their Strasbourg mill in 2013, VPK again trusted Valmet with their grade conversion project in Alizay. Their paper machine now produces recycled lightweight containerboard grades with less emissions.

Layering headbox increased production and reduced costs at PT. Aspex Kumbong PM 3

Aug 13, 2024

PT. Aspex Kumbong mill successfully completed a grade conversion rebuild for their PM 3 from newsprint to light fluting and liner grades in 2023. The Valmet supplied rebuild consisted of a new OptiFlo Layering Gap headbox and improvements in the press section, which allowed the mill to increase production and upgrade quality to improve profitability.

Elevating containerboard manufacturing in India

Dec 13, 2023

Sri Andal is aiming at producing high-quality containerboard with tangible efficiency improvements and Valmet offers a suitable solution for achieving these targets.

Planning a grade conversion?

The world is changing fast; the consumption of newsprint and printing paper is decreasing and the consumption of containerboards or cartonboards are increasing. An old paper machine can be updated with a grade conversion rebuild to produce more profitable products. Turn a new page for your paper machine with the help from Valmet.

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How do you plan a successful rebuild?

Rebuilding a paper or board machine can improve the competitiveness of your business and your processes. But where do you start? Download our e-book to learn how to develop a winning rebuild concept, how to minimize rebuild related risks, and how to ensure smooth ramp up to full production.

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Services and automation solutions for headboxes

Headbox sheets

Headbox sheets used in the headbox are vital for producing a uniform jet flow from the headbox slice to the forming section. The sheets significantly impact end-product quality features such as formation, CD basis weight profiles, thickness and sheet edges, all of which affect the overall paper machine productivity.

Headbox improvements

We provide customized solutions for improving headbox-related sheet quality and headbox performance. With improvements in headbox area you can reduce your cost per tonne produced through savings in raw materials, energy and/or maintenance costs.

Valmet IQ Dilution Profiler

Valmet IQ Dilution Profiler has been specially designed for achieving the best possible weight profile that a headbox can produce.

Valmet IQ Slice Profiler

Valmet IQ Slice Profiler is a headbox slice positioning system which controls the headbox slice to achieve the best weight profile a headbox can produce.

Explore our latest board and paper press releases

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