8 Nov 2020

Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems, though its brand Climaveneta, has supplied the cooling system for Smurfit Kappa Piteå production facilities in Sweden. Smurfit Kappa manufactures kraftliner, which is a type of paper used to produce high-grade corrugated cardboard.

Kraftliner means that the paper is entirely or mostly made of wood raw material, which produces a paper of excellent strength, moisture resistance and printability, and it is chemically and biologically clean. This means that is possible to use in contact with food. The factory produces 700,000 tons of kraftliner each year, making Smurfit Kappa the largest kraftliner factory in Europe.

Focus on environment and emissions

With over 55 years of experience, Smurfit Kappa strives for ‘sustainability in each fiber’ and has high environmental awareness in their production process. In fact, kraftliner is made up of 80% wood and 20% recycled fiber from corrugated cardboard boxes. At the Piteå factory, there is a very big focus on environment and emissions. In normal operation, the factory uses no fossil fuels. A biotech boiler is used as the energy source, where residual products from production, such as bark, sludge, and plastics are burnt.

The company has also considered the cooling system in their goal to be free of fossil fuels, which is why for their process cooling, Smurfit Kappa installed 1 Climaveneta high efficiency water cooled chiller FOCS2-W/CA 7803 for a total cooling capacity of 1858 kW. The FOCS2-W units are characterized by highly innovative optimized compressors and the high performing heat exchangers.