Movingfluid engineering consultancy: the solution to a “hot” potato. Streamlining production alongside Körber Tissue.

In this article:

• Movingfluid: engineering consultancy for “mishap”-safe industrial plants
• Körber Tissue and Movingfluid: streamlining production in a market that is far from falling apart
• “Thinking out of the box”: unconventional engineering consultancy
• The Movingfluid solution: an effective, sustainable system for an innovative market
• Economic and commercial benefits for our customers: the Movingfluid approach

Movingfluid: engineering consultancy for “mishap”- safe industrial plants

We at Movingfluid provide engineering consultancy to streamline industrial plants. Being specialised in fluid handling makes it possible for us to design industrial plants capable of guaranteeing improved industrial production processes with customised solutions in the most diverse sectors.

Below we will show you how an industrial system ensuring economic and commercial benefits in the tissue converting industry could be designed for Körber Tissue by leveraging our engineering consulting services, thus giving life to a distinctive prototype on the market. A result strongly desired by Körber, eager to offer its customers the added value of a unique technology, in a highly competitive business, where the speed of machines in production is taken to the extreme. An honour for us to have been at their side in that challenge.

For 25 years, our engineering consultancy company has been solving impossible problems, with a focus on fluid handling. As in the case we are about to describe, we often end up dealing with tests that are at the limit of feasibility. Getting more out of your plant is always possible with us. If you dream of “squeezing” it to the maximum, this is our cup of tea!
After so many “solved mishaps” alongside our customers, what we are sure about is: behind every machine there is a person. Their idea. Their ambition. We use the word “mishap” precisely because we feel it is human and reveals the mood of anyone who has designed an industrial plant to perfection but ends up colliding with a tiny detail that stops its implementation. It is right there that Movingfluid manages to give its best. By tackling precisely that predicament that you consider to be insurmountable. Focusing on that “I wish I could” which every engineering consultant has already refused.
Where others have failed, we can find a solution. Your “mishap” is our challenge!

Below we will tell you how we solved the Körber Tissue’s specific “mishap”: that is, how the Project Leader of Körber Tissue’s R&D office, mechanical division, saw his vision come true, supported by Movingfluid.

Körber Tissue and Movingfluid: streamlining production in a market that is far from falling apart

Körber Tissue is a provider of advanced solutions for the tissue converting industry. From rolls to folded materials, from converting to packaging, the brand stands out for its ability to turn innovative ideas into reality, through technological innovation. A brand geared towards excellence, steadily looking for new solutions for its market.

Körber’s R&D manager contacted Movingfluid to discuss a problem encountered while dealing with the “Warm up” company project, aimed at the design and implementation of a new tool to boost the productivity of new and existing plants through a new heat technology to be applied to embossing rollers.

Why this goal? The manufacturers of production machines or lines for the manufacturing industry know this well. Being competitive in the Original Equipment Manufacturer market is not easy. Boosting machine productivity is a daily challenge to be faced.

This ambitious proposal involved the Research and Development department at the forefront, called upon to create a revolutionary technology capable of optimising time and streamlining the production process of kitchen paper towels and toilet paper. The equation is simple: shorter lead time = production increase.

Do you need a practical tool to calculate the production efficiency of your plant?

In the case under scrutiny, the calculation of production efficiency in relation to volumes shows a surprising potential. For manufacturing lines where a 1% rise in annual OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is worth about 200K euros of Gross Operating Margin, it is easy to understand how high the competitive value of a solution that increases production speed can be.

However… “mishaps” are always lurking!
The technological solution developed by Körber’s R&D department actually revealed some practical critical issues. In the paper processing process, the heated embossing roller had cooling problems, which hindered quick roller changes and prevented the desired production rates from being maintained. How to solve them?
It is precisely here that our engineering consultancy came into play and devised the system described below, which solved the problem with zero investment costs incurred by the customer.

When the situation is critical and everyone has called your idea impossible. When there is no more time and you are convinced that you have taken all possible paths – that’s when Movingfluid comes into the picture.

Do you want to test us?

“Thinking out of the box”: unconventional engineering consultancy

Movingfluid’s engineering consultants stand out for their ability to find solutions that no one would have ever thought of. “Out of the box” solutions. A method that consists in always starting from the goal that the customer would like to achieve, never from a product.
Thanks to our engineering consultancy, we make it possible for our customers to streamline production at unimaginable levels.

In Körber’s specific case, how can the embossing roller be cooled down quickly to be able to change it or service it immediately, with the resulting implications?
The temperature had to be kept under control. What was needed was to develop a solution to adjust roller cooling in a safe way for the operators.

After the first meeting with the customer, Movingfluid engaged in close collaboration with the customer’s R&D department to find a solution through the following processing steps:

1. Project scope and functional design of the solution sought;
2. Checking the available technologies from technological partners interested in the development and co-design of the solution;
3. Selection of suppliers and definition of partnership contracts, ensuring the exclusivity of supply in cases of co-designed solutions and partnership with the suppliers themselves, as required;
4. Prototype production plan and checks to be shared with all the stakeholders involved during the process – mechanics, electrical technicians, software engineers, sales department, purchasing office and customer care;
5. Prototype implementation and trial thesis with recording of the achieved performance;
6. FAT (Factory Acceptance test);
7. Drawing up manuals and certifications (in this case UL CE and EAC);
8. SAT (Site Acceptance Test) and training of Körber Tissue’s technical staff.

The Movingfluid solution: an effective, sustainable system for an innovative market

After 12 months of work, hundreds of planning hours and dozens of meetings with the involvement of all stakeholders, the result was fully achieved!

To solve the embossing roller “mishap”, Movingfluid designed and built a system consisting of two units: a refrigeration machine for lowering the temperature, and a temperature controller to adjust the heating of the embossing roller.
A plant system capable of injecting water and glycol into the steel roller through special joints and adjusting its temperature as needed.
A closed circuit was then created for loading and unloading liquid from the roller, to allow it to be changed with 100% reuse of the heating/cooling liquid and zero waste.

Sustainable, environment-friendly operation: an issue that always dutifully plays a key role in the solutions we propose.

After several tests and changes as work was in progress, the implemented prototype successfully passed all tests and was launched for first prototyping on the international market.
Given the interest aroused, the prototype was subsequently EAC certified. This qualification opened the doors of the Russian market, where a second prototyping stage was immediately launched.
The goal of the “Warm up” project was thus fully achieved. Not just technological progress, but a system capable of providing the quality that has always singled out the brand of Körber, a pioneer in its sector. A solution that represents an added value for the whole tissue supply chain as it brings about a significant increase in productivity and faster returns on investment.

Economic and commercial benefits for our customers: the Movingfluid approach

The benefits our customers draw from our engineering consultancy go far beyond product-related ones. As a result of Movingfluid’s qualified and focused support, you will be able to go straight to your goal, with targeted resources.
For the customer, this is tantamount to a dramatic reduction in time-to-market times and no investment risks at all.

In the case history described above, the customer was able to benefit from:

• Economic advantages:

• • Prototype design and prototype production costs completely paid in advance by Movingfluid. As a matter of fact, the underlying commercial agreement provided for sale only after requests had been fully fulfilled: “if it matches my expectations, I will buy it.”
  • Economic risk on the part of Körber Tissue’s R&D department = zero.
  • The prototype developed by Körber Tissue in exclusive partnership with Movingfluid met 100% of the former’s needs with very little investment of time and money in its in-house research and development facility.

• Commercial advantages: 

• • By leveraging its agile, flexible structure, Movingfluid made it possible to promptly create a new solution to be introduced into the market. Only 12 months have passed since a marketable prototype, protected by commercial agreements, could be conceived and implemented!
  • Movingfluid was able to seamlessly fit into Körber’s company philosophy alongside the Pivot Solutions research and development centre, geared towards steadily providing the brand’s customers with support in the development of new products.

Starting with the very first drawing on a white sheet of paper, shared with Movingfluid’s engineering consultants to solve the overheated embossing roller “mishap”, the project got indeed off the ground!

As we always say: great opportunities can arise from a “mishap”!

Does your plant have a problem and you don’t know how to solve it?
If you have already asked everyone, it’s high time you get in touch with us!

In addition to the tissue industry, Movingfluid also directs its consulting services to other areas, such as the ceramics, automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and many others.

Would you like to learn more about the “mishaps” solved by Movingfluid in various industrial sectors?