A European paper producer was challenged to reduce costs on a 640-ton-per-day machine producing 80 g/m2 high-quality copy grades with 20% PCC. Previous efforts to increase filler content either reduced productivity or led to quality issues that limited the ability to improve overall costs. Solenis experts evaluated the mill’s operation and recommended a new filler-fiber optimization program marketed as OptiFill. The mill agreed to a trial and shortly after startup of the program was able to increase its filler content from 20% to 25%. Other recorded benefits include:

• Reduced costs
• Maintained bulk, stiffness and tensile strength at higher filler level
• Increased productivity, even on extended production runs
• Reduced copier dusting

This mill was able to achieve significant cost reduction without compromising quality and productivity, thereby building a competitive advantage. The mill is now working to expand the filler-fiber optimization program to other paper machines in its facility.