Allimand

THE ALLIMAND GROUP INNOVATES AND PROPELS ITS CLIENTS INTO R&D: A “WIN-WIN” HYBRID MACHINE CONCEPT

The initial customer’s need: a pilot machine and “low industrial production”, geared towards research & development
“November 2015: One of our loyal customers, based in Asia, contacted us to order a machine for R&D on traditional speciality papers”, explains Franck RETTMEYER, ALLIMAND Group CEO. “We presented our R&D pilot machines and our know-how on papers they didn’t produce until now. Progressively, our customer explained the desire to explore new nonwoven papers. The ALLIMAND R&D teams got to work… The idea to design a hybrid machine started to take shape… Over the months, our customer wished to increase production. Today, they have a machine not only adapted for pilot trials but also with a semi-industrial production capacity”.

The ALLIMAND Group offer: a hybrid machine: a new revolutionary concept

The ALLIMAND Group has extensive pilot experience and offers its customers the possibility to test their papers and prove that the equipment is perfectly adapted to their needs. The concept is revolutionary: it combines two existing technologies, high value-added speciality papers and nonwoven papers.

“We provided the tools enabling our customer to quickly change processes and simultaneously test applications, while having complete control over optimization costs and cost price” explains Yann COUILLAUD, ALLIMAND Deputy Sales Manager.

An example: The press section is entirely upgradable and the paper sort can be easily changed depending on the type of paper, creping, pressed with one or two nips… etc.

A paper and nonwoven machine concept that can be reproduced for other customers worldwide

As the project progressed, ALLIMAND developed bespoke solutions for its customer.

ALLIMAND has of course accompanied its customer through important training courses; machine operation, automation and maintenance training for the operators and machine development training for the management.

This concept opens doors to a very important market of paper makers, conscious of developing their own products, from applied Research & Development, in order to offer their own customers complete production versatility.

The ALLIMAND Group’s added value remains in its capacity to innovate and accompany its customers in R&D, with the aim to then sell complete machines for industrialization and made to measure solutions. It’s a win-win operation with high potential and a concept that can be reproduced for other customers worldwide.

YEAR 2017: ALLIMAND GROUP IS EXPERIENCING GROWTH MOMENTUM

The first North American orders were registered and a major investment in the Nonwovens pilot machine from the ALLIMAND Competence Center is underway and will be completed by early 2018. This investment will complement the range of tests offered our Customers and Prospects specializing in Nonwovens and the arrival of new ALLIMAND equipment with innovative technology.

2018 – Research & Development: a new family of pneumatic Headbox
In terms of Research and Development, ALLIMAND will introduce in the beginning of 2018 a new family of pneumatic Headbox with profile control by dilution.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang province

Hangzhou – capital city of the Chinese Zhejiang province is recognized for its sweet life atmosphere as a resort for former Chinese emperors. Over the years the population has grown and factories formerly installed in the suburbs were forced to move away from the city center. The Hua Feng Group was the first one to move and took advantage of this opportunity to replace its three old paper machines. The first machine designed for different paper types has got the objective to produce cigarette, tipping, plug wrap papers, etc. ; the second is dedicated exclusively to the cigarette papers.

“The constraints of our customer have been expressed according to the real estate program put in place by the City of Hangzhou” explains Jean-Dominique BONFANTI, Technical Director of the ALLIMAND Group. “The total transfer of production was planned on the new site of our customer end of March 2017, i.e. at the time of the shutdown of the last chimney of the coal-fired power plant that produced the steam required for the old site – our customer had to let run the machines in place until the last moment in order to keep an uninterrupted sales capacity. The customer has also pushed to get a quality level ever yet achieved within its group “.

A strategy for sustainable development and public health

The exponential growth of China in recent decades made it a country ranking among the first economic powers in the world, and as such the first worldwide polluter with sulfur dioxide (SO2).

In this context for increased sustainable development, the customer required very strict specifications from the ALLIMAND group, aimed in particular at reducing the rate of carbon emission. The Research & Development department of the group has responded favorably to this technical constraint in presenting technologies with low energy consumption. Public health issues related to the consumption of tobacco in China have pushed the Allimand engineers to design both production lines to manufacture papers with a perfectly controlled porosity. This know-how on the porosity consistency has helped to decrease significantly the rates of tar and carbon monoxide in the smoke of cigarettes made with the papers produced by the 2 machines.

Ergonomics and design: a competitive asset

Highly concerned with the industrial design of the machines of its customers, the ALLIMAND group has managed to customize the safety guards of paper machines with the same colors and logo of the customer in accordance with the graphic charter of Hua Feng mainly in red color. This “final touch” on ALLIMAND machines responds in fact to the objectives of the security criteria optimization associated with the ergonomics of both machines.

A process of training and support to the customer

“The willingness of our Chairman & CEO, Franck RETTMEYER, is to provide ongoing support to our customers during all phases of a project. It has been the case for Hua Feng especially for the auxiliary equipment that they had to purchase” continues Jean-Dominique BONFANTI.

The ALLIMAND Group is thus in a permanent process of support to the customer at several stages. 6 months prior to the delivery of the machine, a delegation of about fifteen people constituted of engineers and supervisors came on ALLIMAND site to receive a theoretical training in dedicated rooms during two weeks. 1 months later, a second delegation (for the second ALLIMAND machine) was given the same training in France.

1 month prior to the delivery a series of practical trainings in the new plant in China -this time- were added to the first theoretical training in order to give the operating staff the ability to work on its own. Of course a simultaneous translation into English and Chinese was ensured by ALLIMAND during these periods of training.
The customer plans to install a total of 6 complete production lines of paper machines on the new site. The ALLIMAND Group can look to the future with confidence on a market that he knows perfectly well.

KEY FIGURES OF THE 2 PAPER MACHINES

Production : A sheet of 3.35 meters wide at 550 m/minute or more i.e. 30 m² of paper per second.

Dimensions of each machine: length = 65 meters; width = 5 meters; height = 12 meters.

Dimensions of each building: length = 150 meters; width = 33 meters; height = 21 meters.

Number of employees on the new site: 300 people.