ABB agrees to modernize Billerud’s paper machine

ABB agreed Feb. 19 with Swedish pulp and paper manufacturer Billerud to modernize Paper Machine 5 at the company’s Gävle mill that produces liquid packaging board and liners. The project will provide new automation, updated hardware, improved quality control and refreshed drives to a machine that supports Billerud’s global packaging output. The upgrades aim to improve efficiency, strengthen cybersecurity, reduce energy and material use and build a platform ready for future digital and AI tools.

The Gävle mill produces board that’s used in consumer goods and food applications worldwide, and manufactures roughly 200 million containers daily as part of Billerud’s network. With demand for fiber-based and renewable materials increasing, mills must precisely handle production changes, even as product mixes shift. The company’s investment supports more efficient and adaptable production. 

Billerud’s modernization project includes several platforms, including an upgraded ABB Ability System 800xA, AC800M controllers, refreshed quality control capabilities and updated drives. By integrated them, the mill gains a more secure and resilient automation environment that can handle data more efficiently, and gives operators clearer, faster insight into machine performance. Production changes can be executed with greater accuracy, helping reduce deviation from quality targets, while trimming raw material use and energy consumption. The new setup also creates room for growth, giving Billerud a path to introduce advanced process control and move toward AI-supported optimization as its operations evolve.

“This project builds on a long relationship between ABB and Billerud at Gävle,” says Martin Björnmalm, local business line manager for pulp, paper and fiber in ABB’s Process Industries division. “Upgrading automation and core hardware gives operators stronger tools, makes the machine more resilient, and prepares the mill for future digital improvements.”