Valmet’s technology replaces plastic products in the packaging industry with wood fibre

The goal of the pilot plant that has been built in Äänekoski is to develop and test a completely new 3D fibre product. The underlying reason for creating a 3D fibre product is the companies’ goal to replace the plastic used in packaging materials around the world with Finnish wood fibre.

In early 2020, different subareas of technology were systematically innovated and conceptualized to get an overall view of the target. The collaboration that had a smooth start was later continued by designing a pilot machine and its tools.

The collabroation has included:

• Mechanical design
• Design for additive manufacturing
• Design for tools
• Technical calculations and flow analyses
• User-centric industrial design to provide guidelines for detailed design

”The project has been extremely interesting, and it has challenged us in many ways. To my delight, I have seen that Huld is capable of reacting to changes in the project even on short notice” – Timo Manninen, Project Manager, Huld.

After only two years of development, a functioning pilot machine was put into operation in Äänekoski. The secret behind Valmet’s success has been simultaneous development of the process, the machine, and the technology, as well as the ability to control the countless variables. As their partner, Huld has taken responsibility for and taken the initiative in achieving the goals.

“We chose Huld as our partner for the design process in the beginning of the project based on our previous good experiences. Huld’s ability to adapt to the changing circumstances has been great. At the same time, their perseverance and determination to achieve the goals have been admirable. We have been given comprehensive support for advancing the project instead of just a design partnership” says Heidi Pitkänen, Business Development Manager, Valmet.

Along with the finished pilot machine, one milestone has been achieved, and further development of the machine has also been started to make it possible to meet the needs of the world’s packaging industry with environmentally friendly products.

It is typically impossible to predict what kind of challenges will be met during a product development project. That is why adaptability and ability to react to changes is required from every stakeholder in the collaboration. Huld has adjusted the composition and the expertise of the project team according to future needs, which has created prerequisites for the success of project. Open and efficient communication has been a basic requirement in this target-oriented project.

”Overall, Huld has done a very good job in the project. The project has proceeded quickly and they have reacted quickly to new situations. They have been able to realize technically challenging targets and utilize the experience in the following iterations” says Arto Haavanlammi, Development Manager, Valmet.