PROJECT D1025
Commissioned May 2026
CASE STUDY | PULP & PAPER / WOOD PROCESSING
End-to-End Wood Chip Conveyor Automation for Continuous Pulp Production
Conveyors Multi-Floor Plant
Project Overview
Client | Grasim Industries Ltd. (Aditya Birla Group) |
Industry | Cellulosic Fibre Manufacturing (Viscose Staple Fibre / Rayon-Grade Dissolving Pulp) India’s only rayon-grade pulp plant |
Plant Location | Kumarapatnam – 581123, Karnataka, India |
Project Ref. | D1025 |
Scope | Turnkey — Design, Supply, Fabrication, Erection & Commissioning |
Contract Value | ₹3.70 Cr (Supply) + ₹16.5 L (Instrumentation & Controls) |
PO Date | 20 August 2025 |
Commissioning | 22 May 2026 (BC3–BC12) │ BC14 & BC15 no-load trial: 10 June 2026 |
System Scope | BC3 to BC15 — 13 conveyors for wood chip + 2 for pulp conveying |
GIL Key Contacts | Panchakshari, Iranna, Anand (site) │ Pulkit Sharma, AGM — GIL Central Procurement Cell |
The Challenge
Challenge 1 — Multi-Floor Plant Layout
- Existing plant has 5+ floor levels; chips must travel both horizontally and vertically across existing civil structures.
- Custom-engineered profile belts with bespoke steel structures were designed to fit within the existing civil footprint — each conveyor individually engineered.
Challenge 2 — Chip Quality Consistency for Dissolving Pulp
- Dissolving pulp for VSF/lyocell requires uniform chip size and moisture; fines cause rejects in the digestor.
- Enclosed belt conveyors with full weather covers and gentle transfer chutes were designed to minimise chip breakage and fines generation; belt speed controlled via VFD.
Challenge 3 — Continuous 24×7 Operation
- Grasim runs the digestor continuously — any conveyor stoppage directly halts pulp production.
- Redundant belt scrapers, auto belt-tracking, hot-vulcanised endless belts on critical conveyors (BC3/BC4), and robust drive frames with premium gearboxes were specified; 36-month warranty provided.
Challenge 4 — Site Constraints & Existing Civil
- BC9 tail had only 150 mm gap from civil bed; BC15 floor level was 200 mm higher than original design.
- On-site structural modifications executed by DEPL team: BC9 civil modification, BC15 legs cut 200 mm — all within commissioning schedule.
The Engineered Solution
System Architecture — Chip Flow
- Chip receiving & screen feeding (BC3–BC5)
- Chip segregation and inter-floor transfer between buildings (BC6–BC12)
- Chip delivery to digestor pre-bin (BC14–BC15, digestor floor)
- Pulp conveying and truck loading (separate line)
Key Automation Features
- VFD-controlled drives — speed-matched to chipper output
- Interlocked start/stop sequence (downstream first) — prevents material pile-up
- Automatic belt tracking and alignment on all conveyors
- Emergency pull-cord safety switches at all floor levels
- Full enclosure covers — weather protection and dust containment
- Redundant belt scrapers — keeps belts clean, reduces carryback
Results & Delivered Benefits
THROUGHPUT
- Design capacity of 130 TPH matched to the Harihar plant’s wood chipper output, ensuring consistent chip supply to the digestor without buffer delays.
- 10 of 13 conveyors (BC3–BC12) successfully load-trialled and commissioned on 22 May 2026 — on schedule.
- BC14 and BC15 (digestor floor level) erection and no-load trials completed on 10 June 2026.
- System operates continuously from chipper discharge to digestor pre-bin without manual intervention at any transfer point.
ROI & COMMERCIAL IMPACT
- Replaced manual and bucket-elevator-based chip handling — eliminates 8–12 daily labourers from the chip yard operation.
- Estimated annual labour saving: ₹30–40 Lakhs per year.
- Chip spillage at transfer points reduced to near-zero vs. previous manual handling, which carried an estimated 2–3% wood loss per tonne (₹5,000/MT wood — a significant annual material saving).
- Estimated payback on ₹4.20 Cr investment: 3–4 years on labour and wood loss savings alone, excluding productivity upside from uninterrupted digester operation.
- Enables continuous 24×7 digester operation; eliminating chip supply stoppages directly protects pulp production throughput and plant revenue.
SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
- Manual chip handling at elevated floors (BC14/BC15 — digestor level) fully eliminated — major fall risk and prolonged dust exposure hazard removed.
- Full enclosure covers on all conveyors provide dust containment; compliant with factory safety regulations.
- Emergency pull-cord switches installed and operational at all floor levels.
- Interlocked conveyor start sequence prevents unsafe or out-of-order machine activation.
- Risk of loose chip accumulation and associated fire hazard significantly reduced through enclosed transfer and continuous operation design.
CLIENT RELATIONSHIP & STRATEGIC VALUE
- GIL site team — Panchakshari, Iranna and Anand — formally acknowledged DEPL site engineer Dheeraj Gujar’s performance post-commissioning.
- Project was won through a competitive tender process managed by GIL Central Procurement Cell (Pulkit Sharma, AGM) — demonstrating Dhanvanthri’s vendor qualification at Aditya Birla Group standards.
- Relationship established with Aditya Birla Group’s global P&F procurement network — strategic foundation for future conveyor and automation orders across the group.
Marketing reference video capturing the system in full operation at the Harihar plant is available at: https://youtu.be/kONUbZ5Cq8k |
Why This Matters For Project & Plant Leaders
For pulp, paper and agri-processing plants running continuous digestor or production cycles, the receiving and inter-floor conveying system is the most critical point of failure. A stoppage here does not just create a maintenance event — it halts an entire continuous process that may take hours to restart.
Dhanvanthri Engineers’ approach on this project — engineering each conveyor to the existing civil footprint, specifying redundant safety features, and commissioning within the client’s production schedule — demonstrates the value of a turnkey partner who understands the process, not just the machine.
Delivered Benefits At A Glance
Uninterrupted Production | Labour Cost Reduction | Safer Work Environment | Strategic Client Win |
24×7 chip supply to digestor with zero manual intervention | ₹30–40 L/year saving; 8–12 workers redeployed from chip yard | Elevated floor handling eliminated; dust and fire risk reduced | Aditya Birla Group vendor qualification — gateway to future orders |