en.Wedoany.com Reported - Valmet has begun assembling the first disc for the log wood chipper for Arauco's Sucuriú project. This component weighs 32 tons and has a diameter of 4 meters, marking the first of six discs required for six log wood chipping lines. The technical concept originates from Finland, but all manufacturing and engineering processes are completed in Brazil, at Valmet's facilities in Portão (RS) and Araucária (PR). The rotor is made from a 35-ton special steel billet, processed through 350 hours of intensive machining. The localization strategy ensures logistical agility and competitiveness, meets the project timeline, and reinforces the status of Valmet's Brazilian factories as global technology centers.
The equipment is designed to process 500 cubic meters of solid wood chips per hour, capable of precisely cutting eucalyptus logs into chips. Its performance contributes to the customer's sustainability goals by minimizing the generation of fines, slivers, and oversized chips, while ensuring maximum utilization of wood fibers and process efficiency in the digester. This 75-ton chipper integrates Industry 4.0 technology solutions, equipped with bearing vibration sensors and monitored by Valmet's Valmet DNAe system. The machine also features an automatic tool change rotation system to ensure safe operation, predictive maintenance, and high industrial availability, meeting the production capacity demand of 3.5 million tons of pulp per year.
Valmet Project Manager Fábio Benini stated that the arrival of the first rotor at the Sucuriú project site is a milestone, demonstrating Valmet's exceptional capabilities at its Brazilian factories. Producing the world's largest chipper in Brazil, combining Finnish technical concepts with the precision of local manufacturing engineering, shows that Valmet is ready to deliver large-scale solutions with agility and competitiveness, supporting the growth of Brazil's pulp industry.
Valmet Sales Manager Luís Buchmann Junior noted that as a core component of the woodyard, this batch of chippers symbolizes Valmet's technological maturity in wood handling and yard solutions. During the sales process, his team, together with Brazilian and Finnish teams, developed an approach based on optimized layout and robust, simple concepts. The manufacturing and delivery of these equipment reflect this technological advantage, and this milestone further highlights Valmet's ability to formulate successful solutions and deliver high-performance key equipment.
