Metsä Fibre's RFID Tracking System for Pulp Units Improves Traceability

June 4, 2020 (Metsä Fibre) - An RFID tag is like a small price tag that contains a lot of information on the pulp unit. The tag makes it possible to monitor the data of a pulp batch in real time.

The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tracking system is based on a small sticker that contains an electronic tag. A unique RFID tag is attached to every Metsä Fibre pulp unit.

"We were the first operator in the pulp industry to introduce the RFID tracking system in 2012. In many other sectors, the technology has been in use for a longer time," says Thomas Fant, Technical Customer Service Manager, Metsä Fibre.

The RFID tag contains a microchip that stores the pulp batch number and to which the batch data is assigned. The tracking tag can store more information than a barcode. With the RFID tracking method, the quantity, technical properties and latest location of a pulp delivery can be verified in real time.

"We hope that other operators in the pulp industry will also take the RFID tracking system in wider use. This would help customers track the origin and quality of the pulp they use", Fant says.

Fibre Online enables real-time tracking

The RFID tag is attached on both sides of a pulp unit with water-soluble glue. The tag can be scanned even if it was not visible. The tracking tag is scanned when the unit leaves the mill and at the harbour before transport.

The RFID scanner can be hand-held or fixed, for instance, at the mill's pulp conveyor. When the tag is scanned, Metsä Fibre's system connects the quality data of the pulp batch to the number sequence of the RFID tag and sends the data to the Fibre Online service.

Metsä Fibre's customer can check in advance in Fibre Online which shipment is going to arrive. This way, the customer can prepare for the arrival of the pulp batch and plan the production accordingly.

RFID tracking tag eliminates shipping errors

RFID pulp tracking technology offers an efficient and reliable identification method. It assists both the pulp mill and the customer in real time. Real-time information exchange eliminates shipping errors and ensures correct deliveries. The tracking system creates an alert if a pulp batch that differs from the customer's order is selected for shipment.

"The data in the fibre online service is currently updated four times a day. In the future, we intend to also enable tracking the location of the shipment in real time," Fant says.

The RFID tag is scanned for the last time when the unit arrives at the customer's site. The tag disappears during slushing and does not need to be separately removed from the batch. However, the quality data concerning the pulp batch remain in the Fibre Online service, which enables the customer to also find out afterwards the batch number and pulp grade of each product.

Metsä Fibre is a leading producer of bioproducts and bioenergy. Metsä Fibre produces pulp and other bioproducts at four mills in Finland: Joutseno, Kemi, Rauma and Äänekoski; and also has six sawmills: Kyrö, Lappeenranta, Merikarvia, Renko and Vilppula (in Finland) and in addition, Metsä Svir sawmill in Russia. For further information visit: www.metsafibre.com.

SOURCE: Metsä Fibre

Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Begins Shipping Project Out of Port of Corner Brook

May 15, 2020 - Corner Brook Pulp and Paper in Newfoundland, Canada, will now be able to access markets pretty much anywhere around the globe as a partner in an international shipping project operating out of the Port of Corner Brook.

The $11-million project is a result of a partnership between the Corner Brook Port Corporation, Logistec Stevedoring Inc., and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, which is the base business in the effort, with support from the federal government.

“You have to have an initial customer to ensure that the business piece works,” said Darren Pelley, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper’s general manager, of the role of the mill.

The arrival of a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) vessel at the port on Tuesday, May 12 with 350 empty shipping containers signaled the official start of the project.

Starting in the next few days at least 200 of those containers will be moved to the east side of the mill where they will be loaded with paper and then moved back to the dock area of the port. When the next MSC ship arrives, the containers will be loaded onto it with plans for the first shipment, destined for China and India, to leave the port on June 1.

Pelley said the mill has a target to ship out a minimum of 350 containers per month. Where that paper goes will fluctuate depending on the markets and in the future will include Asia, South American, Latin American, and Europe. The bonus for the mill is that it will be able to expand on where it can serve.

“What we’ll be able to do now is we’ll be able to access the best markets throughout the globe that were not available to us before,” said Pelley.

Traditionally, the mill shipped the bulk of its paper via paper carriers that arrive directly at the mill. There was a paper carrier at the mill on Tuesday and Pelley said that will continue to happen.

Between 35 to 40 per cent of its paper was trucked to Halifax to be shipped through international containers there. The ratio of what was trucked was driven by the availability of trucking on that route.

“Up to this week our quantity of paper shipped by international roots was constrained by the availability of travel to Halifax,” said Pelley.

Now the company will be able to increase the ratio of what goes out directly from the mill with the service through the port. That means it will have to truck a smaller amount to Halifax and this will also result in reducing the transit time.

Read the complete sstory at Saltwater Network

Södra Ends Furlough Schemes at Sawmills in Orrefors and Mönsterås, Sweden

May 12, 2020 - Södra announced that it has ended furlough schemes that began in April at its sawmills in Orrefors and Mönsterås, Sweden.

Södra ended the furlough scheme at Orrefors at the end of April and now at Mönsterås.

At the beginning of April, Södra announced furlough schemes at its sawmills in Orrefors, Mönsterås and Hamina (Finland) in light of reduced demand related to the ongoing pandemic.

"We decided to introduce a furlough scheme because the UK was closed," said Jörgen Lindquist, President of the Södra Wood business area. "The UK market is gradually re-opening and we have also identified new business opportunities, which is why we will be resuming normal production rates at Mönsterås by 18 May.

"We were already low-staffed at Mönsterås before the crisis and will now need to recruit 5-6 new employees when we scale up to full production," Lindquist added.

Södra is waiting to restart production at the sawmill in Hamina, however, which essentially delivers only to the UK.

"We are seeing several positive signals and monitoring the market carefully in order to decide when we should resume full production at Hamina," Lindquist noted.

Södra said it will continue to prioritize the harvesting of damaged forest, and other harvesting will be subject to geographic differences, depending on possible deliveries to the mills.

Södra's construction timber is produced at the company's seven sawmills — six in Sweden and one in Finland.

About Södra

Södra is Sweden's largest forest-owner association, with 52,000 forest owners as its members. Södra is also an international forest industry Group, with operations based on processing its members' forest products, such as softwood and hardwood pulp, and wood products. For further information, visit: www.sodra.com

SOURCE: Södra

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Brazil’s Forest Sector

By Marcelo Schmid, Manager of Forest2Market's operations in Brazil

April 27, 2020 - Some players in the Brazilian forest-based industry are doing well in the face of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus. But while the country’s pulp sector has largely been unaffected, the packaging sector has been hit hard.

Pulp Sector Reduces Inventories

Brazil is the largest global producer of market pulp and this segment is undoubtedly the most important for the Brazilian forest supply chain. While the pulp segment experienced a drop in foreign demand and exports in 2019, this created an increase in inventories among the major Brazilian producers.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the global consumption of toilet paper to increase worldwide, which has helped to reduce large inventories and normalize production. Although this increase in consumption has been driven by a temporary sense of “panic,” the general feeling is that a market shift has occurred and the consumption of toilet and tissue paper will increase in the future as overall health and hygiene habits have changed.

Lumber Production Expected to Return to Normal in May

The situation for lumber and panel producers varies and depends primarily on the end market for each wood product. Some companies are reporting a reduction in shifts and layoffs due to reduced demand, however, others pointed out that the operations have not yet suffered a significant impact.

It is also clear that the economic effects on manufacturing operations have not been caused by structural market problems (i.e. lack of demand), but rather by restrictive measures put in place by municipal and state governments. As such, many of the clients we have consulted predict that activity will spike in May and head back towards “normal.” In general, popular export products, such as frames and related components, are less affected than products sold into the domestic market and the retail consumer sector.

Packaging Sector Suffers Greater Impact

Speaking of the domestic market, the Brazilian packaging sector represents the segment of the forest-based industry that is suffering the most impact at the moment, and it is not very difficult to understand why. The packaging segment is closely linked to the consumption of different finished products such as food, footwear, household appliances, among others. Since the consumption of various goods has been severely affected in recent weeks due to the reduction in consumer buying habits, the demand for packaging that accompanies these products has also been drastically reduced.

Plywood Sector May be Affected if Quarantine Continues

The civil construction segment, another major consumer of forest-based products, appears not to have been excessively affected by the pandemic. The sector has been recovering after a period of decline. However, with the projected decrease in construction activity on the horizon combined with restrictive “shelter in place” measures across the country, the outlook for April and May is bleak. If the quarantine lasts for another two months, the issue will begin to impact specific sectors within the forest supply chain, such as plywood manufacturers.

SOURCE: Forest2Market