In terms of packaging machinery in Australia, few installations get much bigger than Amcor’s new B9 recycled paper machine, now in its final commissioning stages in Botany, near Sydney’s airport and Botany Bay.
Indeed, it’s the largest single capital investment ever made by Amcor in its 144-year history in Australia. And it’s fitting that this investment is in another paper mill, given that Amcor’s first site established in 1868, was a mill on the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River.
The new B9 machine (so named because it is the ninth paper machine to operate on the Botany site since it opened in 1902) is already the first of its kind and most sophisticated of its class in the southern hemisphere.
It thus boasts a suitably impressive range of vital statistics.
Some 330 metres long and 22 metres high, it’s destined to produce 400,000 tonnes of paper a year from 100 per cent post-consumer waste, the lion’s share collected by Amcor’s own national recycling business.
Paper will comes off the huge machine’s winder at 180km an hour, or a staggering three kilometres of paper every minute.
It will replace three existing paper machines – two of which were located at the same site in Botany and one which is still operating in Fairfield, Victoria.
The most recent machines located at Botany, the new machine’s predecessor ‘B7’ and ‘B8’ machines, were commissioned in 1960 and 1979 respectively and decommissioned in May this year.
The Fairfield mill, which commenced production in 1921 and currently operates the 1967 vintage ‘F6’ machine, will close this year after a long operating life of over 90 years.
Construction of the huge B9 machine started early in 2011, and the project created more than 800 jobs during the construction phase.
In its ongoing role, B9 will employ more than 150 co-workers. Given the level of technical expertise required to operate B9 is significantly higher than existing paper machines in the region, these new operators have been carefully selected through a rigorous recruiting process.
The team of specialist production operators, process experts and process engineers who made the final cut then undertook an intensive, almost year-long training program in partnership with TAFE NSW, as well as training provided by Metso, the machine provider, in readiness for the machine commissioning.
The capital investment for the machine was immense – estimated at a gross value of around $500 million.
In return, the company is looking for enhanced paper performance and quality, improved efficiencies in its supply of paper stocks to local converters, a gradual rolling out of new paper weights and grades to customers of its corrugated Fibre Packaging business and the ability to point to significant sustainability and carbon footprint savings.
Speaking at a media briefing on the company's 2011-2012 financial results and outlook earlier this year, Amcor chief executive Ken Mackenzie said that when B9 is in full operation, it's expected to achieve the company cost reduction benefits of approximately $50 million a year.
“The machine is world class and creates a differentiated customer value proposition by introducing to the Australian market higher quality recycled paper for use in the corrugated box market,” he says.
The managing director of Amcor Australasia, Nigel Garrard, says that it will be the machine's ability to drive innovation that will be of most value to Amcor and customers of its Fibre Packaging business.
He says the machine will initially make the same paper grades as the company’s existing machines in order to ensure a smooth transition to the introduction of new, high performing papers.
“Over time, the broader range of paper weights that B9 will produce will create new sustainable market opportunities,” Garrard says.
The largest ever capital investment in Australia by Amcor, the company's new B9 recycled paper machine will help it offer new paper stocks to local converters.
