Insta performs instrumentation work at BillerudKorsnäs’s Gruvön pulp and paper mill in Sweden

BillerudKorsnäs selected Insta as its partner for the instrumentation installations of one of the most cost-effective board machines in the world.

The core of BillerudKorsnäs’s business consists of innovative, ecological and sustainably produced packaging solutions, which it creates together with its partners. The new investment stems from the company’s strategic objectives and the increasing demand for packaging solutions that conserve natural resources—especially in the food and beverage industries. The Gruvön pulp and paper mill located near Karlstad in southwest Sweden is expected to produce approximately 550,000 tonnes of board a year.

For Insta, BillerudKorsnäs is an exceptional customer because the installations that Insta has previously carried out outside Finland have usually taken place through the main equipment suppliers. This project not only strengthens Insta’s position as the leading Finnish contractor in process automation and instrumentation, but also promotes the company’s strategy related to internationalisation. Insta is providing all the process instrumentation installations for the project.

Reliability and high-quality installations are Insta’s strengths

The investment decision was made at the end of 2016, and Insta Automation was invited to participate in the bidding process in autumn 2017. Insta’s strengths include long and comprehensive experience of process instrumentation installations and projects of similar size, such as the contract for the instrumentation work for the Äänekoski bioproduct mill, which was successfully completed in the agreed schedule.

“Our clear strengths are high quality and reliable installations, which we can offer at a competitive price. Reliability means that projects are completed in the agreed schedule. High-quality installations will last for the entire life cycle of the equipment”, says Jarno Pitkänen, business unit director for Insta Automation’s installation business.

Work will commence in April, and it will be completed in January 2019, with the busiest period estimated to last until December. Senior project manager Kari Kivimäki estimates that during that time, the peak number of Insta Automation employees working at the factory will be 40. The plan is for the production line to be taken into use during the first quarter of 2019.

“For decades, we’ve been one of the leading instrumentation contractors in Northern Europe, and we’ve been involved in several major investment projects in the wood processing industry. Because of our experience and position, our involvement in this project is a natural extension of this”, says Pitkänen.