Save steam, starch and energy - cut your cost per tonne substantially with real-time process optimization
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To bring down variable costs, paper mills invest heavily in hardware. However, major cost-saving potential also lies in smarter process settings — especially in drying and quality control:
These inefficiencies occur every shift, adding up to hundreds of thousands — sometimes over €1 million — in avoidable costs per year.
The good news: smarter guidance and control can cut variable cost per ton significantly.
Even with modern systems and experienced teams, achieving the perfect balance between quality, starch, and energy remains difficult. Three root causes keep most paper lines from operating at their true potential:
Without better visibility and guidance, even skilled teams can’t close the control gap that drives higher variable costs shift after shift.
PBX brings intelligence directly to the line — continuously analyzing live data, predicting outcomes, and guiding operators in real time. The result: stable quality, lower resource use, and more confident decision-making.
PBX transforms everyday control decisions into measurable savings — turning hidden inefficiencies into a clear competitive advantage.
One of our customers — a leading European paper producer — implemented PBX on a modern line already equipped with heat recovery and advanced energy management systems. Despite the high technical level, PBX uncovered significant untapped potential in process settings.
Within just a few weeks, PBX achieved a 6% reduction in steam consumption, equivalent to €750,000 per year in savings (site-specific). Material savings through tighter starch control are not yet included in this figure.
How It Was Achieved
PBX optimized the drying section dynamically by matching drying demand to actual process conditions — without any hardware changes or disruptions to production.The result: stable quality, faster stabilization after changes, and less overuse of steam and starch.
Why It Matters
Even well-optimized mills still lose significant money due to conservative settings and changing process conditions. PBX closes this gap automatically — making visible savings possible on lines that already run “efficiently on paper.”
PBX brings true intelligence to paper production — not by adding hardware, but by understanding how your line behaves. It continuously learns, predicts, and acts to keep quality stable and resource use minimal.
PBX learns the real cause–effect relationships of your line directly from raw data — requiring only minimal expert input.
PBX turns live data into real-time actions that maintain output and quality while cutting steam, energy, and starch use.
Start with recommendations for operators; move to automatic execution within guardrails once confidence is built.
PBX directly improves process efficiency and stability — not through new equipment, but by optimizing how existing systems are controlled. The impact becomes visible within weeks of operation.
Substantially lower consumption through improved drying efficiency and precise control of actual drying demand.
Significantly reduced use by minimizing quality safety margins while maintaining reliable quality on spec.
Tighter to spec, faster stabilization after grade changes, fewer excursions, and less broke.
We offer a free preliminary analysis to quantify potential savings for your specific lines. Before that, we’ll start with a short discovery call — to align on goals, data availability, and what matters most for your mill.
We discuss your production setup and challenges and align on where PBX can create the strongest impact.
You share historical production data (under NDA). We evaluate data coverage and quality, and provide first actionable insights - check out our data requirements.
We share the quantified potential and discuss suitable next steps - pilot, scope, and timeline.
Ready to see what’s possible on your lines?
Request a discovery call with our experts to discuss your potential.
