Papelera Guipuzcoana honours ANDRITZ for delivering a new chipping line for its pulp mill

 Friday, October 31, 2025

Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicuñaga (a subsidiary of the Iberpapel Group), located in Hernani, Guipúzcoa, Spain, that has commissioned a new, high-capacity wood chipping line from the global technology group ANDRITZ. This strategic investment, which will replace two older existing lines, underscores Iberpapel’s focus on leveraging cutting-edge technology to achieve greater operational efficiency and enhanced raw material utilization.

The heart of the new delivery is a horizontally fed HHQ-Chipper equipped with the highly sophisticated TurnKnife knife system. The quality of wood chips is a foundational element in the pulp and paper industry, as their uniformity and size directly impact the efficiency of subsequent processes, such as pulping and bleaching. Oversized, undersized, or irregular chips can lead to inconsistencies in the final pulp, resulting in lower yield, higher chemical consumption, and overall reduced paper quality.

The HHQ-Chipper design excels in maintaining precise control over the chipping geometry, ensuring that the eucalyptus logs are cut against the bedknife in an optimal orientation. This mechanical precision is then amplified by the ANDRITZ TurnKnife system. This patented technology features knives made from high-quality alloy chromium steel with a double, reversible edge.

• Maximised wood utilisation: The system’s precise and consistent knife placement, combined with a longer-lasting sharp edge, dramatically reduces the generation of unwanted fines (too small) and pins (too long or thick), which often end up as waste or lower-value byproducts. This efficiency ensures that more of the valuable eucalyptus wood raw material is converted into high-quality fiber-ready chips.
• Enhanced fibre quality: By producing the highest chip quality on the market, the new line prepares the pulp fiber better for downstream processing. Eucalyptus is a prized hardwood for its short, uniform fibres, which contribute to the smoothness, bulk, and opacity of the final paper products, such as the printing and writing papers Iberpapel is known for. Superior chip quality maximises these inherent benefits of the fiber.
• Operational efficiency: The double-edged, reversible knives eliminate the time and cost associated with traditional knife grinding, boosting the chipper’s uptime and increasing the time between necessary knife changes.

The new chipping line is engineered for robust performance, boasting the capacity to process an impressive 400 cubic meters per hour of forest-debarked eucalyptus logs. This substantial capacity confirms the significance of the investment for the Guipuzcoana mill’s long-term production goals.

The comprehensive scope of supply provided by ANDRITZ includes the complete array of equipment necessary for an integrated wood processing operation:

1. Log receiving: The initial stage for handling and preparing the incoming raw material.
2. Log washing: An essential step to remove contaminants like dirt and stones from the forest-debarked logs, which protects the chipper knives and improves pulp cleanliness.
3. Chipping: The core process handled by the advanced HHQ-Chipper with the TurnKnife system.
4. Conveyor systems: The efficient infrastructure required for moving the logs through the debarking, washing, and chipping stages, and for transporting the finished chips to the pulping plant.

This significant equipment order further highlights the strong, enduring business relationship between ANDRITZ and the Iberpapel Group. The collaboration is a pattern of ongoing modernisation, demonstrated most recently in 2023 when ANDRITZ supplied a lime kiln—a critical component in the chemical recovery cycle of a pulp mill—to the same Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicuñaga facility.

Iberpapel’s overall strategy, as part of its vertical integration model, is defined by sustained capital expenditure. Over the past two decades, the Group has committed over 200 million euros to consistently modernize and improve its facilities, emphasising quality, service, and environmental responsibility. This investment trajectory, particularly in the Hernani-based mill which combines a pulp plant and a paper plant, secures its position as a leading player in the Spanish paper market.

While the financial details of the current chipping line contract were not publicly disclosed—the order was formally included in ANDRITZ’s order intake for the second quarter of 2025—the strategic value lies in the operational and environmental benefits it delivers. By investing in highly efficient, fiber-saving technology like the TurnKnife chipper, Iberpapel not only enhances its bottom line through improved yield but also reinforces its commitment to the sustainable use of natural resources and continuous environmental improvement—a critical mandate for the modern European pulp and paper industry.

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Tags: chipping line, fiber quality, Iberpapel Group, Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicuñaga, pulp and paper industry, Pulp Mill Modernization