Siempelkamp’s relationship with Action Tesa began at IndiaWood several years ago and so it was fitting that the Indian panel manufacturer’s new MDF line came on stream while this year’s edition of the show was taking place in Bangalore.
After meeting Siempelkamp at the biennial event in July 2016, Action Tesa placed an order with the company for a forming and press line, including an 8ftx27.1m 8th Generation ContiRoll, as well as sifter, cooling and stacking system and a large-capacity warehouse.
To date, Action Tesa has manufactured on both multi-opening and calender presses.
Assembly work for the new MDF/ HDF plant in Sitarganj, in the state of Uttarakhand, started in the middle of last year and the first board came off the line on February 28.
From order to commissioning, the project was completed in a record time of 20 months.
The first board off the line was made entirely from poplar but the panel plant is also able to process 100% eucalyptus, or a mixture of the two species.
The plant went into operation in March and is now producing boards in thicknesses from 2-35mm. It has a daily output of 650m3 and puts Action Tesa in pole position as India’s biggest MDF manufacturer, with an annual capacity of 511,000m3.
This superlative is added to a long list of achievements already made by the company: Action Tesa was the first company in India to install a thin MDF/ HDF plant; it has the largest particleboard plant; and it was the first in the country to manufacture HDF-based laminate flooring.
Action Tesa’s latest project also established a milestone for Siempelkamp as it is the first installation of its new EcoSifter. It has developed the technology with the Asian market, and fast-growing renewable raw materials, including rubber wood, in mind.
Perennial plants, such as bamboo and rice straw, can now be used to produce highquality fibreboard and particleboard and the prevalence of bamboo in India provides a strong argument for using it as a raw material in the panel industry.
Siempelkamp points out that the “barely used” rice straw is also an abundant source of raw material, given the large quantities of rice grown in India.
“The potential is huge. In India alone, around 80 million tons of rice straw are produced during rice harvest,” the company says.
These plants have a high silicate content but Siempelkamp has developed a process to significantly reduce the silicate to ensure optimum product quality.
“For this purpose, the use of the new EcoSifter is essential because with its two-stage screening process, silicates are reduced more efficiently than ever before,” says Siempelkamp.
Billed as an energy-saving fibre separator, the EcoSifter optimises circulation circuits through the combination of a specially developed separating sheet and a novel flow technology.
The air flow introduced at the bottom separates the light fibres from the heavier contaminants, which are discharged via a rotary valve. Fibre flow and transport air are separated so that the largest part of the air flow can be returned immediately to the sifter. This is achieved through the use of special fans with closed impellers which achieve high efficiency and so significantly increase the energy efficiency of the classifier.
In addition to the high level of energy efficiency, a minimisation of the flow resistance, a simplified flow tuning and a high level of serviceability are also achieved. With Action Tesa’s new plant up and running, planning is now under way for India’s next MDF plant.
Next Delivery
At the end of this year Siempelkamp will deliver the first plant components for Rushil Decor’s new line in Atchutapuram in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The plant will enable Rushil Decor to increase substantially its production capacity, which currently stands at 3.5 million m2. Its daily production capacity will rise by 760m3.
Siempelkamp is supplying the fibre preparation system, the resin blending and application system, the fibre dryer and sifter, forming line, an 8ftx28.8m 8th Generation ContiRoll press, the cooling and stacking line, intermediate storage, the sanding line, and the cut-to-size line.
The press line will be equipped with the ContiBooster mat pre-heater, which can increase production by 20%.
Some of the equipment will be supplied from Siempelkamp’s factories in China. Siempelkamp will deliver the first plant components at the end of this year and the new line is scheduled to begin operation at the end of 2019.
Established in 1993, Rushil Decor produces MDF from eucalyptus and mango wood from over-aged crops. As well as manufacturing MDF, it produces decorative high pressure laminates and exports to 36 countries.
