Voith to Build Complete Recycled Containerboard Production Line for Middle East Paper Company

The new Voith XcelLine paper machine, PM 5, will have the capacity to produce 450,000 tons per year of testliner and corrugated medium. Start-up is scheduled for Q4 2027.

May 14, 2024 - Voith has been commissioned by Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) for the construction of an entire production line for recycled containerboard at MEPCO's Jeddah mill in Saudi Arabia.

The new Voith XcelLine paper machine, PM 5, will have the capacity to produce 450,000 tons per year of testliner and corrugated medium in the basis weight range of 70 to 140 gsm. The planned design speed is 1,600m/min.

The new paper machine will almost double MEPCO's production capacity at its Jeddah site.

"We are very pleased to be able to further strengthen and expanding our leading market position in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries with this highly efficient production line and state-of-the-art technologies from Voith," said Sami Al Safran, President and CEO of MEPCO.

Joachim Huber, Regional Account & Sales Manager at Voith Paper, explained, "With the new PM 5 production line, we will supply an efficient system that enables optimized and resource-saving production of recycled fiber-based container grades (RCCM). Our latest automation and digitalization technologies will further improve availability and efficiency of the plant and complete the full-line supplier scope of supply for MEPCO."

Voith's scope of supply also includes the basic and detail engineering as well as erection and commissioning supervision of the line.

Further, MEPCO will benefit from a comprehensive fabrics package and a wide range of automation and digitalization solutions from Voith's Papermaking 4.0 portfolio including field instruments for the entire line, OnControl MCS/DCS, OnQuality MD/CD control, OnCare solutions for condition monitoring and asset management, OnEfficiency solutions for process optimization and a unified user interface.

The start-up of the complete production line is scheduled for Q4 2027.

Voith Paper, part of the Voith Group, is the full-line supplier to the paper industry, providing a wide range of technologies, services, components and products, and offers paper manufacturers solutions from a single source.

SOURCE: Voith