Value-added products are achieved with the metered size press

There is a need in North America for a coating pilot plant that is open to any company that can use its services. Two separate projects, one in Quebec and one in Georgia, are currently in the planning, but the general consensus amongst those in the know is that there just ain't room for the both of them. ''Both projects will not be funded on the same scale,'' said Charles Klass. The marketing, financial, fiscal and corporate structures for the Trois-Rivieres, QC, project is being drawn up by the management consulting firm of Raymond, Chabot, Martin, and Pari (RCMP). Project managers Mark Fenwick and Raynald Arid say that they are waiting to hear from Quebec's Ministry of Natural Resources, to get an idea of what kind of support they fall expect from the government. They're expecting to round up $21 million from the partners in the project and are hoping the government will come through with remaining 30% of the $30M projected to get the plant going. The pilot plant will include a pre-metering size press and rod/blade coating heads; a supercalender; a laboratory and coating kitchen with a jet cooker and a cooking capacity to suit eight formulations per six-hour period. An initial design speed of 2000 m/min is planned and the machine arrangement will offer the possibilty of coating at the coater or pre-metering size press. Warehousing will also be available. The seven partners in the deal will benefit from guaranteeed access to the facilities, at a considerably lower daily rate. A daily fee somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 000 for partners compares to the estimated $25 000 other customers will spend for the facilities. Input from the partners - Domtar, Abitibi-Price, Cartons St-Laurent, Groupe Laperriere & Verreault, CEGEP de Trois-Rivieres pulp and paper centre, ECCI and Special Team Minerals - ensures that the pilot plant will meet the research and development needs of the industry. Groupe Laperriere & Verreault Inc., one of the partners, will protide the engineering and technical plans. Herty Research and Development is leading the charge for a facility in Savannah, GA. The proposal calls for a high speed pilot coater, metered size press with blade/rod coating heads, air knife coating heads (used mostly for board coaters), hot soft nip calender and machine supercalender. A ''state-of-the-art laboratory with the support equipment for rheology'' according to project consultant Dale Dill, will also be included. The facility will include a coating kitchen and warehouse. The design calls for a speed or 2500 m/min, ''equivalent to the best in Europe,'' says Dill. Europe has led the development of using the metering size press for coating, says Dill. ''In North America it has primarily been used for applying starch. We're scrambling to catch up.'' All this interest in the process does not mean the demise of blade coating. Dill says that a lot of paper will now have three coats rather than two. The processes are not in competition, but rather give the papermaker more options.