A 28 m tower appears on the site of the DS Smith Packaging factory in Trois-Rivières: major work took place from the end of September to the end of October, an important step in perpetuating the stationery.
The DS Smith Packaging factory in Trois-Rivières, which has 240 permanent employees, was recently involved in a large construction site.
Matthieu Château, general manager of the site since 2017, explains that this is the second which concerns the stationery section, which represents around sixty stationers and which, processing 75,000 tonnes of waste per year, produces recycled paper on reels of paper 2.50 m wide. “ The motorization system of the paper machine was completely changed in April 2023recalls the manager. The stationery activity had been stopped for two weeks. The machine operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. »
The second phase of work started at the end of last September, with a paper mill which had to cease its activity on Monday October 7, only to resume it on October 24. The work consisted of “ redo the machine hoods (to better recover all the vapors linked to paper drying) and install a 28 m tower including three successive exchangers, both to heat the air in the dryer, to heat our process water and heating the production workshop ».
The objective of these important changes: “ A saving of 20 to 25% on the gas bill; we will save 5,000 tonnes of C02 per year (reduced carbon footprint). We will recover, according to calculations, 140 m3 of water per day, which will be reused in the process. »For paper production which is 70,000 tonnes per year, the aim of modernization is to reach 90,000 tonnes in the long term. in several years, with other steps ».
The stakes are high, as Matthieu Château shows: “ We are bringing this machine back into market standards: we are thus working towards the sustainability of the factory. Stationery will be more efficient from an environmental and economic point of view. We cannot stay with an old tool if we want to be profitable and competitive. We are working for sustainability and preserving jobs. If we do not modernize our tool, we compromise its sustainability. »
Cost of the two major successive projects: 10 million euros, with a cost of 4.5 million for the second. The installation of imposing cranes was necessary to enable the latter.
As a reminder, ” half of the paper produced here is consumed on site. There is no transportation. The paper is consumed in the adjoining cardboard factory for corrugated packaging ».
An essential strong point for the DS Smith Packaging factory: “ Although we are part of a large group, we maintain a family atmosphere. Employees are attached to the company. There are dynasties of employees here. »
“A very beautiful human adventure”
Matthieu Château retains, regarding the two projects which were completed “ a very beautiful human adventure. 150 external people were there in addition to employees, with an average of 20 hours per day. Everything went very well. There was no technical unemployment during the construction site: the production staff carried out numerous maintenance work. No accidents have occurred in the factory. On such a site, this is a real feat, due to the seriousness and professionalism of all the teams. The cardboard factory (nearly 180 people including administration and production) has always continued to operate. »
Photo above: a large-scale project, requiring the installation of very high cranes, took place recently to optimize the paper mill activity of the DS Smith Packaging factory in Trois-Rivières.
