Valmet calendering

Improved surface properties and controlled caliper profiles

Valmet's innovative calenders are excellent solutions for all paper and board grades. Compaction of the paper surface and its structure improves the surface properties, the most important of which are smoothness and gloss. But on the other hand, paper or board web cannot be condensed too much without loosing bulk. Calendering is a two way street; you need to balance between the opposite properties.

Valmet’s calendering technology

Valmet’s calendering technology provides innovative solutions for all paper and board grades. Calendering is often the last step of the paper manufacturing process, which is targeting to affect paper and board properties. Calenders are also used as pre-calenders before coating or size application.

The type of calendering technology applied is determined by machine process conditions like speed and web width as well as the paper or board quality desired. Every investment you make has to pay itself back in a reasonable time so it is essential to choose the right concept for each application. All Valmet’s calendering solutions fulfill the most important task: no compromises are allowed to reliable operation.

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Learn more about our OptiCalender solutions

OptiCalender Hard nip calendering

Valmet's hard nip calenders are well suited for final calendering of different types of board, newsprint, and fine papers. Another area of application is pre-calendering of coated paper and board.

OptiCalender Soft nip calendering

Valmet's soft nip calenders are well suited for final calendering of different types of board, newsprint, and fine papers. Another area of application is pre-calendering of coated paper and board.

OptiCalender Metal Belt calendering

The unique OptiCalender Metal Belt features a long-nip calendering: increase profit with very high surface quality and decrease raw material cost with the increased bulk.

OptiCalender Compact calendering

OptiCalender Compact is designed for maximum usability with minimum operational costs, and it provides quality calendering. The simple, integrated structure enables extremely easy start-ups, everyday site operations as well as maintenances. Naturally, this also lowers the required initial investment and operational costs.

OptiCalender Multinip calendering

Valmet’s multinip calender is used both in off-line and on-line applications. The OptiCalender Multinip loading principle makes it possible to load all nips with the same linear load, resulting in efficient plasticization of paper in the very first nips. Profiling performance is affected by the number of control zones on deflection compensated bottom and top rolls.

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Nippon Dynawave: sustainable board with less CO2 emissions and fibers

Oct 10, 2022

Nippon Dynawave wanted to go towards a more sustainable board production. They succeeded in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using less fibers for the same amount of board with the Valmet-supplied metal belt calender.

Sappi Maastricht: new 3-layer headbox and metal belt calender for extremely good board quality

Mar 7, 2020

Sappi Maastricht mill in the Netherlands got a new future for its board machine with Valmet’s innovative three-layer headbox and metal belt calender. They are now in the specialty boards business producing extremely high-quality SBS and FBB with superior smoothness and printability.

Energy-efficient air drying at SAICA, El Burgo

Mar 25, 2019

Safety played a key role when SAICA El Burgo in Zaragoza, Spain, chose air drying technology for their new, Valmet-supplied off-line coating machine. High coating quality proved at pilot trials and energy savings compared to IR dryers were also important.

Successful conversion from paper to board – Stora Enso Varkaus PM3

Sep 15, 2017

From Paper to packaging – Stora Enso’s Varkaus mill in Finland converted their existing paper machine into a board machine to produce linerboard in 2015. They chose Valmet as their partner for this challenging rebuild. The successful conversion from paper to board has been a marvelous journey to better meet the market need for renewable packaging.

Valmet calendering pilot facilities

Jul 12, 2016

Valmet’s calendering pilot facilities offer the latest technologies and innovations in its field, such as aqua cooling calendering and metal belt calendering. The facilities allow you to run tests on a set up which mirrors that, which you have at your facilities, or alternatively the type of configuration you are looking to set up.

Valmet – OptiCalender Metal Belt

Jun 28, 2016

OptiCalander Metal Belt introduces a completely new method of making board. The metal belt calender simplifies the entire board-making process and releases drying capacity by removing the speed limits caused by Yankee cylinders. This results in extremely high bulk and stiffness, together with very smooth surfaces.

Read our latest customer success stories about Valmet calender deliveries

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Liansheng Pulp and Paper: big success with PM 1 carton board and PM 3 high-grade fine paper lines

Feb 27, 2024

Living up to expectations, Liansheng’s PM 1 carton board and PM 3 high-grade fine paper production lines have been recognized as a success not only by Liansheng, but also by their customers.

Valmet’s selection of calender roll covers: A result of extensive expertise

Dec 19, 2023

Few roll cover manufacturers can offer as wide a range of calender covers as Valmet can today. Most attention is paid to high-performance covers addressing difficult conditions in the calender, such as vibration and barring in high-speed online calenders. But many calenders also run without vibration issues, and when such “anti-barring” covers are not required, other properties become more important.

Valmet’s new premium calender covers – the ultimate high performers

Dec 18, 2023

Wear and impact resistance, as well as reliability, are entering another level with two newcomers to the Valmet Calender Roll Cover CL product family. In addition to graphical papers, they are suitable for specialty papers, as well as container and packaging boards.

Asia Symbol PM 13 advances to a new high

May 25, 2023

The construction and start-up of Asia Symbol Guangdong Paper’s (ASGD) PM 13 represents a new success. The project took just 17 months and started up on schedule in March 2022. Just four months later it reached a speed of 1,610 m/min.

Enduring release paper calendering: A difficult cover life

Oct 25, 2022

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Calendering release paper is one of the toughest jobs a calender cover can encounter. Valmet Calender Roll Cover CL-EC has proven it is up for it.

Sustainable board production with less CO2 emissions and fibers at Nippon Dynawave Packaging

Sep 21, 2022

Learn how the partnership between Nippon Dynawave Packaging and Valmet has resulted in increased flexibility, boosted efficiency and enhanced quality at the mill.

Valmet’s multinip calender: finalist in engineering contest

Apr 17, 2020

Valmet’s OptiCalender Multinip has been selected as a finalist in Finnish Engineering Contest. OptiCalender Multinip is a major invention that revolutionized traditional multinip calendering technology with a simple mechanical solution. The invention was made in 1993 and stands the test of time. Over the years, Valmet has so far manufactured and sold calenders based on the invention worth an estimated EUR 1 billion.

Sappi Maastricht: Extremely good quality with new 3-layer headbox and metal belt calender

Feb 11, 2020

Valmet’s unique three-layer headbox and metal belt calender have helped Sappi Maastricht to produce outstandingly white and bulky board, with excellent printability and surface properties.

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How to plan a successful rebuild?

Rebuilding a paper or board machine can improve the competitiveness of your business and your processes. Download our e-book to learn more.

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Learn more about the services and automation solutions for calenders

Calender roll covers

Targeting long grinding intervals and smooth surface quality? Valmet’s calender roll covers provide longer service intervals and optimum paper or board properties. Besides providing better marking resistance, our calender covers allow much higher speeds and temperatures without damage than conventional alternatives. For paper and boardmakers these factors mean quality. Let Valmet help you to run with the most suitable cover for your calender.

Five questions that will help maximize roll cover effectiveness

Roll cover decisions are complex; the prices, performance characteristics and cover lifetimes vary considerably. Answering these five questions can guide papermakers in making a better choice among today's wide range of roll cover technologies.

Roll maintenance

Valmet’s modular maintenance service solutions consists of roll maintenance, roll reconditioning, and roll upgrade services. These solutions help board and papermakers achieve maximum performance with transparent and consistently high-quality maintenance services.

Doctoring products

Doctoring affects machine runnability, paper and board quality, production costs, and production efficiency. Runnability can be improved by optimizing doctoring parameters and blade materials. Cleaner rolls result in better end-product quality. The blades can be selected to meet customers shutdown schedule which will lead to fewer blade changes resulting in lower blade costs. The reduction of unplanned shutdowns and costly downtime periods can be avoided by reliable and trouble-free doctoring....

Tail threading

A reliable tail threading process decreases tail threading times, minimizes waste and improves safety. This means an investment in your process is an investment that pays for itself. Whether you need improvements in paper or board machines, we have an advanced tail threading solution that clearly enhances your production efficiency. Our comprehensive range of tail threading services, from preventive maintenance to tail threading study secures optimal operation of your equipment and reduces threa...

Automation for Board and Paper

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