Demag cranes for a paper-roll store in Africa

• Two new Demag cranes to Mpact South Africa
• A new paper-roll shipping store at its Felixton paper mill in KwaZulu-Natal
• This represents the first-ever order for Demag technology for a paper-roll store in Africa

Mpact South Africa has made the investment to ensure that paper rolls are stored carefully and retrieved in time. This forms part of a general upgrade to produce lighter-weight packaging papers and meet changing customer demands, while improving energy efficiency. The production capacity of its corrugated base papers will increase to 215 000 tonnes a year.

“The automated shipping store with the two cranes accommodates the entire output of the paper mill. Investment in the state-of-the-art paper machine technology will boost the quality of our finished goods stocks, as well as efficiency and competitiveness,” Mpact Felixton paper mill manager Brian Smith explains.

Installation of the cranes is due to commence in August 2017. “We are delighted with the confidence placed in us by Mpact. The scope of this project involves our automated Demag process cranes. This is the first-ever order for cranes for a paper-roll store in Africa,” reveals Lutz Dowy, Vice President Sales & Service for the EMEAR region.

The capacity of the new store is 14 200 tonnes, at a fill capacity of 80%. The paper-roll store receives and despatches product on a 24/7 basis. The two identical Demag cranes supplied are equipped with vacuum lifting devices to provide for fast, gentle storage and retrieval of the unwrapped paper rolls. Material can be stacked up to a maximum height of 15.1 m. The cranes are designed to transport up to 63 rolls an hour.

Up to 650 tonnes of paper has to be loaded in the new paper-roll store every day. The paper rolls, configured to meet individual customer specifications, measure 500 mm to 2 500 mm in width, and weigh 370 kg to 3 300 kg. The paper-roll store covers a total area of over 2 700 m².

During periods of no loading, paper rolls are aggregated according to scheduled deliveries and staged for retrieval. Thanks to the accuracy of the cranes and the ‘smart’ Warehouse Management System (WMS), the available storage space is utilised optimally.

About Mpact

Mpact is a leading paper and plastics packaging businesses in Southern Africa, listed on the JSE’s Main Board in the Industrial – Paper and Packaging sector. The Group has leading market positions in Southern Africa in recovered paper collection, corrugated packaging, recycled-based cartonboard and containerboard, polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) preforms, recycled PET, styrene trays and plastic jumbo bins. These leading market positions allow Mpact to meet the increasing requirements of its customers, and to achieve economies of scale and cost effectiveness at the various operations.

Mpact has 33 operating sites, of which 23 are manufacturing operations, in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe. As at 31 December 2015, Mpact employed 4 467 people. The Paper Division comprises three mills at Felixton, Piet Retief and Springs, all of which carry ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certification. Felixton (FSC-C114577), Piet Retief (FSC-C117980) and Springs (FSC-C004834) also carry Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification.

Notes to the editor

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