12 July 2022. FOLBB will stop production at the FBB mill in Eerbeek on 13 September to carry our upgrades at the machine.
FOLBB has revealed more details on the planned upgrade of the board machine in at the Eerbeek plant. The company already announced in May that it would replace the shoe press at the folding boxboard (FBB) machine in September. The company now revealed that production at the machine will be stopped on 13 September for 25 to 30 days in order to install a new shoe press and upgrade the infrared installation used to dry the cartonboard.
The current press equipment section has reached the end of its technical life and will be completely replaced by a state-of-the-art shoe press. The investment will deliver better performance and increased efficiency for the pressing process, according to FOLBB. At the same time, the infrared burners used to dry the cartonboard will be upgraded. This yields approximately 5 per cent savings on the use of natural gas.
"This is the first step in a multi-year investment process to modernise the mill and make it more sustainable," says Otto van Beers, managing director of Folding Boxboard Eerbeek.
The Eerbeek mill and its German counterpart Baiersbronn form FOLBB Group, which was acquired by funds managed by Oaktree Capital in July 2021. "Our current owner actively supports investments in the modernisation and sustainability of our board mill in Eerbeek over the coming years," says FOLBB Group CEO Daniel Wiktorin. "The modernisations and improvements we are announcing today involve an investment of several millions. The multi-year investment program comprises a series of major investments to be made over the next years.”