Paper Mill Succeeds with Outsource Approach to Maintenance

ABB took over the maintenance operations of Myllykoski’s flagship paper mill at Anjalankoski, Finland, in January 2007 and quickly achieved some remarkable results with its Full Service concept of plant maintenance.

Explaining why Myllykoski decided to outsource its maintenance operations to ABB, Tuomo Tuomela, executive vice president for technology at the group, says:

“We wanted to improve the mill’s performance and efficiency and cut the maintenance costs as well. We looked at all the alternatives and possible partners in maintenance outsourcing and made comparisons. ABB had a good, proven concept on how to take over the maintenance process and implement it successfully. This, and their experience in the pulp and paper industry and strong local presence in Finland, convinced us that they would be successful.”

Within just two years, Myllykoski could register the following improvements:

• Overall equipment effectiveness of the mill’s three paper machines was improved by 0.9 percent, 5 percent and 7 percent, respectively
• Nine different records were set with regard to machine speed and production
• Total annual maintenance costs were reduced by 10 percent, equivalent to savings of $6.8 million during the first two years
• Maintenance-related accidents were reduced by 70 percent in the first year and 66 percent in the second

The maintenance organization was right-sized by 21 percent during the first two years

The Myllykoski paper mill at Anjalankoski, Finland, produces up to 560,000 tons of uncoated and coated printing paper a year. Myllykoski is a family-owned international paper group with seven mills in Finland, Germany and the United States. The company is one of the largest producers of publication paper in the world.

ABB Full Service is a globally supported long-term performance-based agreement in which ABB takes over the maintenance operations at a production site and commits to improve the performance and reliability of the production equipment at the entire facility.

Proven at 300 sites worldwide in a broad range of industries, ABB Full Service focuses on improving key performance indicators like overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), availability, maintenance cost per unit, safety, and customer and employee satisfaction.

Improving the OEE of a site (asset availability x performance rate x quality rate) while reducing the site’s maintenance costs has a major impact on profitability. It enables customers to improve productivity, cut costs, eliminate overheads, share risk, focus on their core business and turn maintenance into a profit-centered business.

Industries in which ABB is performing Full Service contracts include chemicals, oil and gas, petrochemicals, metals and minerals, food and beverage, pulp and paper, electronics and many more.

For more information, visit www.abb.com.