An exclusive interview from Mr.Varun Jain, Director, India Region
Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. With automation systems and flow control solutions they serve an even wider base of process industries. They aim to become the global champion in serving their customers, claims 17,000 professionals work close to their customers and are committed to improving the customers’ performance – every day.
Paper Desk : Being one of the strong players, how Valmet is doing in India?
Varun Jain : Valmet has a strong presence in India, our local capability to serve Indian and neighbour markets has been developing systematically. In the past few years, we expanded automation’s operation facility in Mumbai, opened the filter fabric manufacturing in Pune, after the latest integration with Neles, we have over 890 employees with 5 offices and 5 workshops in India. All these footprints show our commitment to this region.
PD : What are Valmet India’s mission ?
VJ : Our mission is to convert renewable resources into sustainable results with our competitive process technology, services and automation for pulp, paper and energy industries. We are committed to moving our customers’ performance forward with our unique offering, including sustainability. We introduced our climate program – Forward to a carbon neutral future, to continue our comprehensive work to reduce CO2 and other emissions for the whole value chain, including the supply chain, our own operations, and customers’ use of our technologies.
Our four core commitments are ‘safety comes first’, ‘close to you’, ‘solutions to your needs’ and ‘people you can trust’. To be close to our customers, we systematically expand our locations and competences in the area to better serve customers and also provides them remote services with new technologies especially in the challenge situations. Regardless of the geographical location, customers can easily access all Valmet professionals.
Over 17,000 Valmet employees working in over 30 countries makes for a truly global company. At Valmet the best talent across countries and cultures comes together to work as part of business line and area teams to bring top technologies, products, and services to our customers.
PD : Valmet’s presence in India and how you serve the customers?
VJ : We have a long and enriching experience in India and serve all leading pulp and paper manufacturers with our technology, services and automation. Our services include a comprehensive scope of offerings to our pulp, paper, board, tissue, energy and process customers with local approach and our global network supports. Our engineering hub in Chennai provides engineering and project execution to pulp and energy customers in Asia Pacific and globally. Our manufacturing facilities in Pune produces stock preparation equipment and filter fabrics. We deliver not only the equipment, but also the expertise to support our customers in achieving optimized performance.
PD : What kind of intelligent automation solutions and services are offered for the pulping industry?
VJ : Valmet provides future-proof automation solutions for pulp, board, paper, tissue, energy and process industries. In addition to distributed
control systems, Valmet’s automation offering includes quality management systems, analyzers and measurements, flow control technologies, as well as various industrial internet applications and automation services.
As reported, we supply a complete mill-wide Valmet DNA Distributed Control System (DCS) to JK Paper Limited for their board project at Fort Songadh Mill in India. Our delivery of mill-wide DCS system covers the control of paper machine, pulp mill, recovery island and power block sections. All controls are in one platform that allows users easy access the data and collaborate. It also helps in synergizing Valmet Industrial Internet offering for any optimization needs in future.
PD : How advanced technologies you bring to Indian customers?
VJ : Valmet has been active in Indian market, bringing the latest technology services and automation to Indian customers. As a recent example, we have supplied Valmet Continuous Cooking, latest third generation technology, to an Indian pulp mill, helping the customer to achieve low water consumption and raw material efficiency in the operation.
Another example is the delivery of key containerboard machine technologies to paper mills in India, helping customers with their target of producing high-quality containerboard with tangible efficiency improvements to enhance their competitiveness.
Also we have provided modern state-of-the-art recovery boiler technology to Indian customer, to ensure reliability, energy efficiency and environmental performance.
From the renewable side, we are executing three (3) projects in India comprising of BioTrac™ biomass pretreatment system for biomass to ethanol application. With this technology, waste material such as rice straw can be utilized to produce climate friendly biofuels.
Along with the process technology deliveries, we also provide the automation, industrial internet applications and services to our customers to increase process reliability and performance.
Indian pulp and paper industry has been investing strongly in new technologies, to bring the overall technological standard of Indian paper industry to the next level. We have been working side by side our customers in India to reach that target.
PD : What is carbon-free pulp production and what Valmet offers on this?
VJ : In Valmet our mission is to convert renewable resources into sustainable results with our technologies, services and automation. Sustainability is at the core of Valmet’s business strategy and operations. In 2021, we introduced our climate program – Forward to a carbon neutral future, to continue our comprehensive work to reduce CO2 and other emissions.
Our climate program includes ambitious CO₂ emission reduction targets and concrete actions for the whole value chain, including the supply chain, our own operations, and customers’ use of our technologies. We aim to enable fully carbon neutral production for our pulp and paper customers by 2030.
Our solutions to enable energy efficient and climate neutral pulp mills are quite comprehensive, you can visit https://www.valmet.com/pulp/sustainability/ to learn more.
PD : What is LignoBoost® and how Lignin extraction is achieved?
VJ : Valmet has developed the technologies with years of research and huge amount of investments. Referring to Black Liquor and separating lignin and utilizing the lignin either for burning or for other purpose.
The “Ligno –Boost” the technology, where lignin is separated from Black liquor has many possible commercial applications. In many Mills this is becoming a vehicle for increasing the capacity of the recovery boiler and by separating lignin, the same can be used for burning there by reducing the fuel cost substantially.
PD : What are your other business in India?
VJ : Over last two decades Valmet has set up a strong footprint and successfully delivered several major projects to its customers across Indian subcontinent including key solutions and technology.
Valmet is cooperating to offer a leading technology solution to efficiently utilize coal washery rejects in India with minimum environmental impact. Valmet’s offering also includes modern environmental solutions covering air emission reduction technology e.g. sulfur dioxide removal and low NOx technologies.
PD : How does your company contribute to the society?
VJ : Valmet’s social responsibility is part of Corporate Citizenship, one of Valmet’s sustainability focus areas. We want to be a respected corporate citizen and continuously develop our processes and operations. Recognized as a sustainability leader in our industry, we enhance sustainable business practices throughout our value chain.
We want to have a positive impact on society and the environment locally and globally and believe that increased integration into the local communities results in mutual benefits. Valmet participates in selected local programs around the world based on its Guidelines for Sponsorships and Donations and works in close operation with selected universities and research organizations globally.
Valmet’s sponsorships and donations focus on science, research, education, environmental protection, nature conservation and youth activities.
Since the beginning of 2020, Valmet has supported Save the Children’s Child Sensitive Social Protection Project in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, India, where Covid-19 has significantly disrupted children’s education. The project aims to reduce child labour and increase school attendance by developing the circumstances of poor and vulnerable children through increasing access to government social protection programmes.
PD : Could you say about Valmet’s special achievements & awards?
VJ : We can list the few as below.
- In 2021, Valmet was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the eighth consecutive year. The DJSI is a sustainability index family which includes the global sustainability leaders across industries. Valmet was listed both in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe indices.
- Valmet has been reporting to CDP’s climate program ranking since 2015 and achieved the B rating in 2021. CDP is an international, non-profit organization that collects and assesses climate change information from companies and cities to help investors better understand the economic risks and opportunities that climate change presents to their portfolio companies.
- Valmet has been rated in the top 1 percent among all assessed companies in EcoVadis’ global corporate social responsibility assessment, receiving the best platinum medal. EcoVadis helps companies to manage their supply chain, and some of Valmet’s customers are using EcoVadis as a basis for supplier audits.
- In 2022, Valmet received Bronze Class distinction in the Global Sustainability Yearbook 2022 by S&P Global for its excellent sustainability performance.
