Metsä Board Husum

Pinja’s team constructed a dynamic simulation model that was used to study the behaviour of the process in various scenarios.

Secured investments with a simulation model

Metsä Board is Europe’s leading producer of folding boxboard and white fresh fibre linerboard. Recently, a very modern folding boxboard machine was built at the integrated board and pulp mill in Husum. An important investment in a new manufacturing process was underway at the Husum board mill.

Pinja ensured in an effective manner that the research questions were clearly defined at the beginning of the project.

Matti Ketonen, Vice President of Business Development, Metsä Board

The challenge: To find optimal methods of utilizing the manufacturing process and transport logistics

The objective was to find optimal methods of utilising the manufacturing process and transport logistics. At the same time, the effects of production planning and the changes in product distribution on the loading of processes and storage facilities were investigated.

The solution: Dynamic simulation was selected as the method of analysis

The project was started by defining in more detail the objectives, research questions, process descriptions and initial data. Metsä Board’s project team assembled the initial data and process descriptions required for the simulation. Pinja’s team constructed a dynamic simulation model that was used to study the behaviour of the process in various scenarios.

Production bottlenecks were identified

“Pinja ensured in an effective manner that the research questions were clearly defined at the beginning of the project. Answers were found for the questions, and along with them, the needs for additional investigations were also documented sufficiently clearly”, said Matti Ketonen, Vice President of Business Development at Metsä Board.
“We verified the locations of production-related bottlenecks in various production situations. In addition, we were able to investigate their significance and assess the changes that can be made to advance the load distribution of bottleneck resources using production planning methods.

The content of the project could be defined with such precision even before signing the content of the project could be defined with such precision even before signing the delivery contract that the implementation of the project succeeded according to the agreed plan”, continues Matti Ketonen.