1 July 2021
A planned production shutdown was carried out at JSC Volga
At the beginning of June 2021, JSC Volga has put a halt to production capacities in order to carry out annual preventive and planned repairs. This year, the terms of repairs were increased, due to the need to conduct large-scale repairs along the entire chain of technological equipment – from the wood preparation to the paper plant. Not only is it for the sake of making all the necessary repairs, but also in order to implement a number of investment projects on the modernization of paper-making machines No. 5 and No. 8, longitudinal cutting machines and packaging lines. The terms of repairs this year were affected by the last year’s lockdown, when due to the restrictions related to COVID-19, the duration of the planned shutdown was reduced as much as possible.
Aside from our own staff, a significant number of specialized contractors was involved. Thanks to them, we managed to stay on schedule and complete everything that was planned for the shutdown.
The most significant repairs were carried out at the fifth and eighth paper-making machines. At the PM No. 5, employees of JSC Volga, under the supervision and with the direct involvement of specialists from Rohling and Voith, replaced the ceramic elements of the forming part, carried out an audit and changed the regulating elements of the PM No. 8 pressure box, which feeds the paper pulp to the grid table for subsequent molding of the paper web.
The replacement of the inlet and the fine adjustment ruler made it possible to improve the profiles of weight per square meter of paper and humidity, which had a positive effect on the quality of the finished product. Replacing the ceramic elements of the forming part on the two paper-making machines made it possible to utilize the full technological potential of the equipment in the production of all types of goods – both of printing and packaging purposes.
Among other important planned works at the main production in the paper plant No. 3, there is the replacement of the forming shaft of the PM No. 8, as well as that of the cloth-bearing shafts lifting ropes of the first and fourth presses – all that will significantly increase the efficiency of the PM. The paper makers of JSC Volga did the job perfectly: all the work was carried out efficiently and on time.
The necessary repairs of the technological equipment were carried out in the thermomechanical pulp production plant as well. In particular, the insertion of two new, powerful pumps to the latency tanks was conducted. Employees of the JSC Volga power plant installed a gate valve on the pipeline section between pumps 1,2-7209, which made it possible to separate the flows of bleached (intended for the production of newsprint) and unbleached pulp (for packaging types of papers) coming from the TMP plant to the paper plant No. 3.
In addition, during the planned shutdown, the modernization of Damatic Classic cabinets of the line 0 at the plant entered its second stage, so did that of the automated process control systems responsible for quality management of thermomechanical pulp. Under the supervision of Valmet specialists, the old equipment was replaced with the new one.
The electrical service replaced the introductory circuit breakers on the 0.4 kV RC and carried out an audit of transformers at all the substations of the plant. These and other works will ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the plant and reduce the number of equipment emergency shutdowns.
As the head of the TMP plant, Alexander Manin, noted, all the services of the plant worked perfectly well, and the tasks met the regulatory deadlines.
In the steam turbine plant, the contractor organization LLC Veldeks repaired the bark chopper at the bark preparation site, as well as the exhauster and the ash auger housings of the boiler 06, 07, and replaced the section of the service and drinking water pipeline.
“In a short time, a significant amount of quality work was performed, and for this I want to thank both the JSC Volga staff and the employees of contracting organizations. The specialists' efforts were aimed at improving the reliability and efficiency of the equipment and improving the quality of finished products,” noted Deputy General Director of Volga JSC Andrey Gurylev. “The achievement of the company's strategic goals for sustainable development and increased productivity depends directly on the successful implementation of these and other works. Major repairs are a guarantee of stable and trouble-free operation of the entire plant throughout the year.”
Volga Press Service
