Digitalization is not only changing the way we manufacture products but also the form and function of the product itself. No place is this more evident than in the fiber industry where the increased use of digital media is quickly replacing newspapers, magazines and office paper

While the market for many paper products may be decreasing, the increase in online shoppers has created a growing demand for cardboard – boxes upon boxes. That Amazon package at your front door could very well have linerboard from the state-of-the-art Greenpac Mill.

Adapting to the future

Greenpac Mill is a brand new, light-weight recycled linerboard mill that is fully integrated with Siemens technology from Digital Factory, Energy Management and Process Industries and Drives Divisions. This sustainable, state-of-the-art mill has the largest linerboard machine in North America, and not a single processsing step is done manually; everything is completed automated and digitalized. The mill produces 500,000 tons of cardboard annually, exclusively from waste paper. It currently processes 45 to 50 truckloads and two rail cargo loads of recyclable material per day to produce a thin, very stable cardboard that is ideally suited for packaging purposes. The company and the community surrounding the mill are proud of their positive impact on the environment and economy.

Siemens Solution

Siemens is a proud partner with Greenpac to showcase how electrification, automation and digitalization (and services) drives productivity, efficiency, reliability and sustainability at the plant – and builds a trusted partnership with a great customer.

Siemens technology is the brains behind our paper mill. It’s a single platform that enables seamless communication from one end to the other
Murray Hewitt, managing director of Greenpac Mill

Siemens digital overlay allows the Greenpac team to remotely monitor the mill and its systems to track data that is produced by 700 motors and 3,000 instruments including valve positioners, flow meters, temperature and pressure sensors configured as function blocks within the SIPAPER PCS7 Automation System.

Siemens account manager Robert Harroun, who has been involved in the project right from the start, added: “Greenpac Mill is a smart digital factory in the true sense of the word, and the only way this could be accomplished was with our comprehensive Simatic PCS 7 automation solution.”

Additonal information:

Check out the the feature film and Siemens customer magazine article to learn more about how this digital factory in upstate New York transforms tons of waste paper into high quality packaging material using Siemens Process Automation.