Research news from STORA

The STORA Group's image as a leading, high-tech forest products company is emphasized by the annual STORA Research and Development Seminar, arranged by Stora Corporate Research AB, which in 1997 was held in Falun and Kvarnsveden, Sweden, on November 17-18. Three major items of research news were presented during the Seminar: a unique development tool, the ATPA, for product development work in the paper manufacturing segment; a new high-speed sheet- fed offset press capable of printing 15,000 sheets per hour; and Storatech, a new concept designed to attract youngsters and students to the forest products industry. Automated measurement tool The Advanced Total Paper Analyzer (ATPA) is a new, fully automated development tool for measuring paper's different properties. The ATPA is regarded as an important instrument for use in product and quality development. By using a unique, patented technology, quality analysis can now be undertaken throughout the entire web, a process which was previously impossible. The equipment can be used for product development work on all of the Group's paper and board grades. The machine, which cost SEK 24 million to develop, is located exclusively in Kvarnsveden. The ATPA is probably the most complete paper- analysis tool in existence in the world today. Focus on product development A new sheet-fed offset printing press, which also functions as a test printing laboratory for all types of paper, from magazine paper to heavy-duty packaging paper, has been installed at Stora Corporate Research in Falun. With a capacity of 15,000 sheets per hour, the press is one of the fastest and most efficient of its kind in the world. The investment cost for Stora Corporate Research was about SEK 16 million. The project involves the conversion of a complete printing press into a sensitive, high-precision instrument for product development purposes and is one of several programs currently in progress to underscore STORA's image as a leading high-technology company in the forest products industry. Storatech for schools Storatech is the name assigned to the STORA Group's program to promote increased interest in and create greater understanding of the forest products sector in Sweden's high schools, colleges and universities. Storatech is a completely new facility, an "Exploratorium" that is intended to function as an educational and experimental workshop for teachers and students. The goal is to increase knowledge about and understanding for forest industry operations by providing participants with opportunities to themselves try out new techniques and conduct experiments in, for example, paper production. The Storatech facility in Falun can accommodate a total of about 50 students and teachers from Sweden's schools each week, or about 1,800 participants per year. Storatech is a unique concept in the forest products industry, but it can be compared with other Swedish training concepts, such as "Teknikens Hus" (The House of Technology) at the University of Luleå and "Molekylverkstan" (The Molecule Workshop) at Hydro in Stenungsund. Stora Corporate Research, with slightly more than 300 employees, conducts extensive Group-wide research and development activities through three joint R&D centers, in Säffle and Falun, in Sweden, and Viersen in Germany. Research work is conducted on a cooperative basis across a broad front, extending from the long-term development of know-how and strategically focused research for the future, to product development in close conjunction with market and production requirements.