ANDRITZ to supply Europe’s largest FibreFlow drum pulper to DS Smith’s paper mill in Porcari, Italy

The stock preparation line includes Europe’s largest FibreFlow drum pulper.

The equipment provided by ANDRITZ will be used on the new paper machine, due to start up mid-2025, that will provide a range of paper grades for the FMCG and e-commerce sectors serviced by DS Smith.

Stefano Andreotti, Project Manager at DS Smith, says: “The new equipment from ANDRITZ, as well as helping us to recover more water, will help us capture, clean and use fibres that would normally get rejected in the paper making process, so they can be once again used in our recycling loops.”

The new stock preparation line will have a design capacity of 1,650 bdmt per day and process various types of raw material, such as OCC (old corrugated containers), mixed papers and board as well as new shavings of corrugated board. The system includes the following technological highlights:

• A FibreFlow drum pulper with a pulping zone diameter of 4,500 mm and a total drum length of 50,000 mm – the largest of this type in Europe – for gentle pulping of the raw material mix and efficient removal of coarse contaminants.
• 9 PrimeScreen X screens with state-of-the-art rotor design providing high screening efficiency at low energy consumption and superior stock quality.
• 2 PrimeFilter D filters to handle higher feed consistencies and higher-freeness pulp, even in the most demanding applications.

The innovative reject treatment system will be able to handle 135 bdmt per day. It will comprise a robust ADuro C shredder as well as ReCo reject compactors to process the rejects from pulping and coarse screening in the most efficient way.

The scope of supply also contains basic and detail engineering, installation and supervision, commissioning, and operator training.

DS Smith is a leading provider of sustainable fibre-based packaging worldwide, which is supported by recycling and papermaking operations. It plays a central role in the value chain across sectors including e-commerce, fast moving consumer goods and industrials.

Headquartered in London and a member of the FTSE 100, DS Smith operates in 34 countries employing around 30,000 people and is a Strategic Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Its history can be traced back to the box-making businesses started in the 1940s by the Smith family.