In an exclusive interaction with Paper Mart, Mr. Arun Thanga, Vice President – Sales & Technology, ANDRITZ Technologies Pvt. Ltd., (India), shares that large mills in India are looking for integrated technologies that are effective in day-to-day operations. The upgradation is primarily defined by capex and value addition, with mills preferring incremental upgrades over complete technology implementation.
Paper Mart: Based on your experience across multiple paper mills, how would you describe the current deployment of core technologies and systems, and to what extent are these implemented in an integrated versus selective manner?
Arun Thanga: Broadly, core technologies are deployed in a selective manner. However, bigger mills in India are looking for integrated technologies.
PM: How effectively, in your observation, are these installed technologies being utilized in day-to-day mill operations, and what typically limits their optimal use?
AT: The installed technologies are used quite effectively in day-to-day operations.
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PM: Which types of systems or technologies do you most often see underutilized at mills, and what are the common reasons behind this?
AT: Since only essential technologies are being used in mills, there is no underutilization.
PM: Despite increasing automation, do you still observe significant manual intervention in mill operations, and what drives this in your view?
AT: Yes, there is quite a good amount of manual intervention in operations. This is mostly to do with the economics of the specific operations.
PM: From your interactions with mills, which process areas tend to face the most operational variability or inefficiency despite the presence of modern systems?
AT: The areas that face most operational variability or inefficiency are related to the inputs to the mills like raw material, water etc.
PM: How well are different systems, such as process equipment, automation, chemical dosing, and utilities, integrated in most mills, and where do gaps in coordination typically arise?
AT: These systems are quite well-integrated and gaps in coordination are rare.
PM: What kinds of measurable improvements have mills been able to achieve through technology deployment in recent years, and where do you see outcomes falling short of expectations?
AT: Improvements have been seen in effective utilisation of raw material resources, utilities like water and steam, product quality improvement and reduction in emissions, effluents etc.
PM: Have you encountered instances where technology implementations did not deliver expected results, and what were the key reasons in those cases?
AT: There have been few cases where technology implementations have not delivered results, mostly due to improper initial requirements, lack of understanding of the preconditions etc.
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PM: How do mills typically approach technology upgrades in terms of cost, performance, and integration, and what trade-offs do you see most often?
AT: Mills approaches are defined primarily by the capex, and value addition. They prefer incremental technology upgrades rather than complete technology implementation.
PM: In your view, what will drive the next level of efficiency in Indian paper mills: greater adoption of new technologies, better utilization of existing systems, or stronger integration. What gaps need to be addressed to get there?
AT: All these are essential for Indian mills to get into the next level of efficiency. But, focus could vary depending upon each mill’s requirement and outlook.
