Upgrading of a gypsum wallboard plant

Extension and upgrading measures for the wet production of gypsum wallboards with an investment volume of approximately 3 million € have been carried out from July 2007 to August 2009 at works no. 2 of  the VG ORTH  GmbH & Co. KG (Fig. 1). Two stages of extension had been planned. The core measures for the first extension stage include the enlargement of the wet production shop area and the refurbishment of the moulding boxes of special steel as well as the replacement and extension of mixers of special steel in 2008. The new special steel mixers permit an increased flexibility when manufacturing boards, since now all boxes are equipped with mixers (previously 1 mixer for all boxes). Commissioning took place in late autumn 2008. The wet production shop area will be enlarged by 100  % as a result of the structural alterations. The core meas­ure of the second extension stage is the integration of a heat recovery plant in order to increase the capacity of the dryer. This measure is currently being carried out and is scheduled to be finished in summer 2009. The total annual output amounts to approx. 600 000 m² of gypsum wallboards of different sizes.

In April 2009, the company integrated a further modern plant for the production of gypsum plaster at their works no. 1. The upgrading consists of a 4-spout packer, type Integra 4S, from Haver & Boecker, Oelde/Germany (Fig. 2). This is the first machine of this type that is equipped with four filling spouts. This is a fully automatic machine including a silo for empty bags and an automatic bag applicator with a capacity of approx. 800 bags/h. It is equipped with an ultrasonic valve-sealing device. The capacity mentioned is related to 30-kg bags and will be correspondingly higher with smaller filling amounts. From now on it will be possible to handle bags with weights from 10 to 30 kg. The specified bag weights are checked by means of a ­calibrated continuous weighing machine with a particularly narrow tolerance range. If the weight falls below a certain limit, the bags are automatically removed. The bagging machine is completely enclosed and in this way is protected against dust and environmental impacts. It can be completely controlled from the outside. The bagged gypsum and gypsum plaster ­products are of the brand MultiGips.

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