Seach
A job well done is often the best reference a company can have. This became very clear when ANDRITZ selected Oucons, a member of Comatec Group, to design the conveyor systems for the woodyard of one of the world’s largest pulp mills.
– In early 2022, ANDRITZ approached us with an invitation to tender. ANDRITZ had been selected to supply a massive conveyor system for the expansion of the Asian factory, and the company was looking for a designer, says Business Unit Manager Juha Suistio.
– We had been working with ANDRITZ on design assignments of various sizes for several years, and they’ve gained a good grasp of our skills and general approach during that time. It’s clear to me that ANDRITZ chose us as their design partner for the project because they trusted the quality of our work, and felt sure that we would work well together.
The biggest-ever conveyor project
Comatec has almost four decades of experience in machinery and equipment design, with a special focus on material handling equipment. The design of the conveyor system commissioned by ANDRITZ is the largest single conveyor project in the company’s history.
– In total, the design work took us 17 months. It occupied around 35 Comatec employees at its peak. We also made effective use of the expertise of our staff from different offices. In addition to Oulu, we drew on specialists from our offices in Pori, Kankaanpää and Tampere. Still, the project was immense, and quite an intense effort in parts. Judging from the feedback we received, we did an excellent job, says Engineering Manager Jukka Seppänen.
Wide-ranging expertise under one roof
Comatec provided the conveyor design for the pulp mill woodyard, including ancillary equipment from the log feed to the soda recovery boiler supplied by ANDRITZ.
– The figures give a sense of the scale of the project: the total length of the conveyors currently being installed in the woodyard is around 11 kilometres, and the longest single conveyor is around one kilometre long. The complex also includes a 60-metre-high crossing station for the distribution of wood chips, Seppänen says.
The conveyor design process was also closely linked to the strength calculation of steel structures and the product development of new components. Some of the conveyors differed in width from those previously manufactured by ANDRITZ, and their auxiliary equipment, such as tension drums and folding drums, had to be designed from scratch.
– Additionally, we modelled the material flow for the first time, simulating the flow of wood chips in the junction station hoppers, dividers, and from one conveyor to another. In addition to our design expertise, we were therefore able to draw on our long experience of the end customer’s operating environment, especially regarding the woodyard, Seppänen says.
Solid collaboration for success
Managing a project of this size and progressing within the agreed timeframe requires a huge amount of paperwork: corresponding with the customer, scheduling and resourcing work, design guidance, reporting and documentation, not to mention preparing countless lists and documents.
– The design work itself is very much a continuous process of problem-solving, such as planning changes and implementing them. Our partnership with ANDRITZ worked like a dream, and during this project we were able to discuss and find solutions to any challenges that arose. The excellent trust and open communication between us that we had already built up were decisive for this project, Seppänen says.
Manager Jarkko Järvinen of ANDRITZ agrees.
– Communication was very effective, weekly meetings pointed the way and daily phone calls then sorted out the smallest details. The project was challenging, but also very interesting in many ways, not only because of its size. There were many variables during the project, but they were managed smoothly. I also think that the follow-up of the project has gone very well, says Järvinen.
Text: Marianne Valta
Photo: iStock
