Case Study
SSB Forming Fabric Boosts Tissue Production by 15%
Indonesia Tissue Mill — Indonesia
Indonesia
Voith
1,800 m/min
8 weeks
Project Snapshot
Country
Indonesia
Paper Type
Tissue Paper
Machine Brand
Voith — 2,850 mm
Machine Speed
1,800 m/min
Project Duration
8 weeks
Products Used
Customer Background
One of Indonesia's top five tissue producers, operating three tissue machines with a combined annual output of 180,000 tons. The mill serves domestic and export markets across South Asia and the Middle East.
The Challenge
The customer experienced frequent sheet breaks (5 per day) and short fabric service life (45 days) on their high-speed tissue machine. The existing SSB forming fabric could not maintain stable dewatering performance and fiber support at 1,800 m/min, resulting in quality degradation and unplanned downtime.
Key Issues Identified
- The existing fabric's dewatering channels were too narrow relative to the machine's vacuum system configuration, causing fiber accumulation and triggering sheet breaks.
- The fiber support surface lacked sufficient cross-direction (CD) stability at high speeds, resulting in inconsistent sheet formation.
- The fabric's edge seal design caused premature wear at the deckle board edges, shortening overall service life.
The Solution
PAPTEX engineered a custom SSB triple-layer forming fabric with optimized dewatering channels and enhanced fiber support surface. The fabric features a 3D weave structure that increased open area by 12% while maintaining machine-direction (MD) tensile strength above 85 kN/m. Air permeability was calibrated to 520 CFM to match the machine's vacuum system configuration.
Root Cause Analysis
Root cause analysis identified three primary issues:
1. The existing fabric's dewatering channels were too narrow relative to the machine's vacuum system configuration, causing fiber accumulation and triggering sheet breaks.
2. The fiber support surface lacked sufficient cross-direction (CD) stability at high speeds, resulting in inconsistent sheet formation.
3. The fabric's edge seal design caused premature wear at the deckle board edges, shortening overall service life.
Implementation Timeline
1
Site Audit
Week 1Comprehensive PM survey, vacuum system analysis, used fabric failure analysis
2
Engineering
Weeks 2–3Custom weave structure design, CFD dewatering simulation
3
Manufacturing
Weeks 4–6Weaving, heat-setting, seaming & QC inspection
4
Installation
Week 7On-site supervision, tension tuning, dewatering optimization run-in
5
Results — Verified KPIs
Production output increased 15%, forming fabric service life extended 33%, and sheet breaks reduced 60%. Steam consumption decreased 8.3%, delivering an estimated $180,000 in annual energy and fabric savings.
| KPI Metric | Before | After | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production Output | 100% (baseline) | 115% | 15% |
| Fabric Service Life | 45 days | 60 days | 33% |
| Sheet Breaks | 5/day | 2/day | -60% |
| Steam Consumption | 1.8 t/t paper | 1.65 t/t paper | -8% |
Return on Investment
$180,000 annual savings through reduced fabric consumption, lower steam usage, and increased production uptime. Full ROI achieved within 3 months of installation.
“PAPTEX delivered quantifiable results, not just a product. The 15% production increase and 33% longer fabric service life exceeded our expectations. Their technical team's on-site support during installation was outstanding.”
