PBA will support the Master in “Technology and production of paper and cardboard” held by the University of Pisa (UNIPI) and promoted by the Cassa di Risparmio Foundation of Lucca. This programme is one-of-a-kind in Italy, and was created to respond to the needs of the paper and corrugated cardboard industry by educating highly specialized engineers in a sector that combines advanced technology and sustainability. 

This master’s degree was designed to train professionals who can manage and innovate complex processes which are typical in this industry. The goal is to create interdisciplinary skills which range from design and chemical procedures to automation, digitalization, energy, and circular economy – fundamental elements for the evolution towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this framework, the programme represents the culmination point of an educational chain that covers every academic level, contributing to the reinforcement of the local paper and paper converting district.

PBA’s collaboration with this master’s degree reflects the importance of creating synergies between industry and education, with the aim of supporting innovation and promoting a sustainable growth in the sector. This commitment finds its expression also through the active participation of qualified professionals. Among these, Elena Troia – PBA energy manager – who has been a teacher at this master’s for many years. This year too she will hold lessons, offering a precious contribution based on her direct experience in the sector. 

Applications for the Master in Technology and production of paper and cardboard are open from 24th July to 31st December for students of the European Community. For more details, please check the website: https://epc-masterdegree.it/

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A paper mill’s heart is the continuous machine. “A monster of technology and speed that feeds on dirty water and produces rolls of paper.” This is how an inexperienced visitor would describe the machine. By only using words to describe the machine, we cannot add the noise that is part of the magic, and which heightens its importance. The continuous machine has been used in paper mills since 1800. It was built in Holland, and then evolved throughout the years to become more and more powerful. It’s called continuous because usually it’s a really grand system which works non-stop. It treats paper paste until it becomes real paper, making it an essential machine for any paper mill and any kind of paper. Cartiera dell’Adda holds at the heart of its plant a continuous machine that the company defines a gem. The machine is exemplary in the production of grey cardboard. The machine is 100m long, and it’s the first in Italy in terms of width in the production of the paperboard roll. It was built by the company Carcano di Maslianico who was forced to transform their space to meet Pino Cima’s technical requests, the founder of Calolzio Corte. The year is 1956, the Cima family looks to the future and designs a new performing plant. The result of these investments is a highly technologically advanced company. Pino Cima’s intuitions on using recycled paper as a raw material were ahead of his time, as well as the idea of recovering heat for the production of electric energy. The machine contains all the work segments which are distinctive of paper or cardboard: the Headbox where the paper paste is inserted, the Wire section where excess water is removed to form the sheet of paper, which is then pressed in the Press, dried in the Dryer, smoothed and shined in the Calendar section, and finally rolled up thanks to the Reel. During this operation the characteristics of the product are defined, like weight, candling, thickness… Every kind of paper requires a different machine with different specifics. This is why in Cartiera dell’Adda, the continuous machine was designed and started in tight collaboration with the designer and the entrepreneur who commissioned it, producing only carboard and recycled paperboard. Today, Cartiera dell’Adda’s continuous machine has undergone many transformations and improvements in the last 68 years of activity, always keeping up with modern times, and featuring a very sophisticated technological part which is licensed – the section where the sheet is formed. The carboard sheets can be a few kilometers long, and the working speed can break 30km/h. At the moment, Cartiera dell’Adda’s machine can produce more than 25 tons of paperboard every hour.
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