Krefeld, Germany, June 14, 2017, - many years of research and development work with the preparation of annual plants for the production of fiberboards; this technological lead by Siempelkamp provided the key Impetus for the Placement of another Major contract from the USA. The American company CalAG LLC commissioned Siempelkamp with the delivery of a production facility for fiberboards made of rice straw. CalPlant LCC invests more then USD 315 M for the new production site in Willows, California. By means of this sizeable order, Siempelkamp will unfold its complete service portfolio again and plan, construct, deliver and commission the entire mechanical engineering for the site in Willows from one source, with a contract value of EUR 75 M.
Project background Information:
Rice straw is an abundant raw material in North America, as roughly 10.000.000 tons of rice is grown in the USA each year. This makes the United States, the eleventh country after Japan,one of the largest Producers of rice in the world. The main growing areas are in Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Louisana and California. The Californian purchaser CalAG LLC signed the supply contract on June, 14, shortly after it was announced during this year's LIGNA 2017 exhibition in Hanover that the required investment volume had been successfully achieved by means of public investor participation. The future production site of CalAG LLC will be financed by issuance of bonds at the New York Stock Exchange.
The order placed on Siempelkamp covers the entire treatment of rice straw bales by Pallman with devices to untie and tear the bales as well as with cleaning equipment for straw to exclude coarse material and dust.Two refiners for the defibration of rice straw are also delivered by Pallmann, in a typical design for annual plants with a horizontal cooker to avoid any bridging of fibers. The cleaning equipment for the precipitation of the silica parts in the fibers is a special contruction, developed by Siempelkamp, and especially tailored for the processing of rice straw.
The gas-fired fiber dryer, driven by a dryer system utilizing natural gas, with a drying performance exceeding 32 t/h atro, is delivered by the subsidiary, Büttner, as well as those energy systems required for steam and heat generation. The Front-End Technology, required for fibers and mats, is delivered by the Italian subsidiary, CMC. to comply with the strict environmental requirements in California, banning the use of formaldehyde in glues, a special glueing system with a turbo mixer is used. This high speed mixer is able to process Isocyanate PMDI according to a method developed by Siempelkamp.
The core component of the future production equipment for the manufacture of rice straw fiberboards is of course, the ContiRoll® of the latest generation 9 with its numerous improvements, such as e.g. the highly efficient drive motor ContiRoll Ecodrive, offering energy savings potential to the operator at least 7 % under full load operation and up to 14 % in partial load operation. Next to the development of mechanic and hydraulic machine components, the newly created Siempelkamp Press Controller SPC, as a pressure / position control system, makes sure that the required press forces or press distances are strictly observed by means of advanced hardware technology and precise sensor technology in the technological press zones. The ContiRoll® will Feature a variable press width of 8 - 10" and a length of 35,4 m.
The finishing includes a diagonal saw, held as rip-cut saw exclusive formats for Columbia Forrest Products, one of the Major US American suppliers for wood-based materials as a main purchaser of fiberboards. Besides the grinding and stacking line, a fully automatic storage system with warehouse vehicles and a base carrier also belong to the scope of delivery. After the commissioning, planned for the end of 2018, CalAg LLC will produce a volume of 200.000 m3 fiber boards per year by using the Siempelkamp equipment.