Thimm has further developed its corrugated board plant in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate with a comprehensive expansion of the corrugator and the installation of a new conveyor system. This investment in Alzey means that F-flute can now be produced for the first time at a German Thimm site. Additional investments in process automation are planned for the fourth quarter of 2021.
A large part of the Alzey investment package, namely the conversion work on the corrugator, began in May; the previous unit has been replaced a new Modul Facer® from BHS Corrugated. This has enabled the maximum production speed of the corrugator to be increased to 350m per min. This modernisation means that Thimm is now able to produce F-flute in Germany for the first time.
The investment also secures the supply of E, F, B, C and T-flute to the other Thimm plants nearby, along with their combinations of doublewall. Various other peripheral and renovation measures were also carried out along with some machine upgrades. The modernisation took place during ongoing operation. Later this year, other parts of the corrugator will be further upgraded, including the dry-end and the steam system.
A further part of the investment in Alzey was implemented in the second quarter, with the installation of new conveyor belts and chain conveyors from Dücker Conveyor Systems, which will now form a new buffer section pre-cut sheets on the corrugator. The significant increase in corrugator capacity means that no separate interim storage will be required in the future.
