PCM & AFT Partnership of flexibility & creativity, Martin Koepenick, Senior Marketing Strategist, Innova International Corporation

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Figure 2: Carlos Covarrubias, Instruments and Controls
Manager (right), Mario Ramirez, President of Eysmar-AFT rep, and Rafael Betancourt (left), Maintenance
Manager. In concert with Tom Cichoracki. of AFT, they
supported training of all operators and staff.
Notes Cichoracki, “Carlos is a master of how everything
works. He is a quick read of performance of all aspects of
the control loop. He recognizes quickly when a process
is not running optimally, troubleshoots and brings the
process back into control and doesn’t have a problem
getting his hands dirty in the process.”
Owner and CEO Agustin Anaya, who has a long history in
papermaking, looks to team members for constant improvement. He
has a “walk-around management” style, observing and listening to
managers, operators, and staff in all twenty of their mills and plants.
He says, “The key to our success is a constant commitment
to quality and service. We have highly motivated people who employ
the best technologies from strategic suppliers. We expect strategic
suppliers like AFT to deliver their best and transfer knowledge
to our people. We stay in touch long after projects are complete.
We exceeded high expectations with our PM2 rebuild and in the
marketplace.”
Comments Corrales Hernandez, “Agustin Anaya is an
enthusiast for new technology; pushing all the time for the latest
version of everything. His deep knowledge of papermaking and
corrugating makes him a different kind of CEO. He believes in
continuous improvement, where everyone in the mill is encouraged
to help make gains. Sometimes in Mexico there’s a strong will to
stay the same. At PCM we are never afraid to change.”
Rapid payback matters a lot when ambitious growth is built
into the business approach. For the past decade of their 30 years in
business, PCM has grown at over 30% annually.
Continues Corrales Hernandez, “AFT’s advanced equipment
and know-how help us achieve flexibility in running the board
machine at peak performance. During the project and afterward, a
strong personal connection defines the success of our relationship.”
AFT representative Mario Ramirez and his team, supported
by AFT, delivered design, on-site optimization, training, and more
to help support PCM’s ambitious goals. A rapid return on capital
investment contributes significantly to our partnership relationship
with PCM. And so does fine tuning and follow up once the project is
complete.”
The piping design around the POM system has many
carefully calculated twists and turns that add up to higher, consistent
performance. Continues Cichoracki, “No stock preparation or POM
design is identical. To maximize PM2’s performance, understanding
all of variables of their process matters a lot. The real test is always
runnability and quality gains seen through the process to the reel…
especially in the corrugated medium and fluting.”
Adds Julio Cesar Ramirez, Eysmar service leader and AFT
rep, “The POM system is especially effective in dealing with an
overload of air in the board-making process. In addition, because
pulsation instability was reduced, everything runs smoother. When
the operators don’t have to worry about constant small issues,
success shows up in the sheet.”
Figure 3: Carlos Covarrubias showing a POM
Degasser on the DCS.
Figure 4: (Left) PM2 is now so fast that
the winder is being updated to handle the
change. On average the machine produces
12% more liner and fluting than before,
having the potential for up to 30% higher
production. Improvement in sheet formation
was immediately visible.
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