Sappi chooses ABB Industrial IT

ABB has been chosen to supply Sappi's Ngodwana Kraft Mill with Industrial IT Open Control. The contract is valued at US$ 2 million (ZAR 20 million) and is the first of a 4-phase project valued at US$ 11 million (ZAR 110 million).

"ABB's clear vision of the future, their Industrial IT solution and their ability to deliver locally, made them the supplier of choice," said Mr. Guy Spindler, Sappi regional engineering services manager. "ABB's suite of products meets Sappi Forest Product's integrated process automation strategy."

The delivery involves the replacement of an obsolete competitive system in the mill's groundwood plant, the No. 2 digester and the newsprint machine. It includes 10 Control IT Controllers (AC800M), 10 Operate IT process portals and 7500 I/O.

Phase I will be commissioned during the second quarter of 2003. The entire project is due for completion by 2006.

Each phase will be timed to ensure a smooth workload and will be integrated into planned mill outages.