Fluting & Testliner Paper Lines
How to scope, compare and verify a recycled-fibre packaging paper line sourced from China — new, used or refurbished.
01What this page covers
This page is about sourcing a fluting or testliner paper line from China, whether you buy new, used, or refurbished. It explains what a complete line actually contains, how capacity is really determined, and which documents you need before two quotations can be compared at all.
LANCY is not a paper machine manufacturer. We act as an independent sourcing and project-matching coordinator: we locate candidate machines and supplier capacity in China, arrange verification, and stay accountable through to shipment. Where this page refers to evidence, it means documents and photographs that exist for that specific machine.
Manufacturer-style claims, factory photographs and project counts are intentionally absent until LANCY supplies them.
02Is this page right for you
Four situations where the structure below is directly useful.
You are sizing a new project
You have a range in mind rather than a fixed specification, and you need to know which variables actually move the tonnage figure.
You are weighing China against a local rebuild
The real comparison is delivered and installed cost plus risk, not the machine price on the first page of the quotation.
You already run a mill and need one section
Stock preparation, dryer sections and reel-to-winder upgrades are the most common single-section requests we handle.
You are buying used and need to know what to check
Verification has to happen before price negotiation. After the price is agreed, leverage is gone.
03How capacity is actually determined
Capacity is not a nameplate number. It is the product of four interacting variables, and a quotation that states tonnage without all four is not comparable.
| Variable | What it means | Pin down this |
|---|---|---|
| Trim width at reel | Usable paper width after edge trim, measured at the reel. | Reel trim — not wire width. |
| Basis weight range | Fluting and testliner sit in different gsm bands; a line optimised for one is not automatically optimal for the other. | The gsm you will actually run most of the time. |
| Working speed | Speed achieved at the target gsm, which is lower than mechanical design speed. | Design speed and working speed, quoted separately. |
| Running hours and efficiency | Operating hours per day, broke rate and planned downtime. | The basis of the TPD figure: per day, not per hour. |
A useful test of any quotation: ask the seller to restate the tonnage at your gsm and your trim. If the number changes, the original figure was not your capacity.
04What a complete fluting or testliner line contains
Use this as a scope checklist. A quotation that omits a section is not cheaper — it is incomplete, and the gap surfaces later as a variation order.
| Section | Typical equipment | Verification point |
|---|---|---|
| Stock preparation | Pulper, screens, cleaners, refiners, rejects handling. | Throughput matched to the paper machine, not just a nameplate figure. |
| Approach flow and headbox | Fan pump, screens, headbox, dilution control. | Headbox type, lip condition, control system generation. |
| Forming section | Wire, breast roll, forming board, foils, suction boxes. | Wire width, remaining wire life, vacuum system capacity. |
| Press section | Nip or shoe presses, felt runs, felt conditioning. | Number of nips and nip loads; felt age and condition. |
| Dryer section | Dryer cylinders, gear or felted run, hood, condensate system. | Cylinder count, surface condition, pressure test records. |
| Size press | Metering or pond size press, where strength targets require it. | Whether it is included at all — and whether it is required for your grade. |
| Reel and winder | Pope reel, winder, roll handling and wrapping. | Reel trim width, slitting accuracy, roll weight capability. |
| Utilities and auxiliaries | Steam and condensate, vacuum, compressed air, water, effluent. | Commonly excluded — confirm explicitly rather than assuming. |
| Control and drives | DCS/QCS, section drives, motors, cabling. | System generation, spare availability, documentation language. |
05OCC stock preparation for fluting and testliner
Both grades are predominantly recycled fibre, so the stock preparation line influences achievable strength as much as the paper machine does. Two mills with identical paper machines can run different gsm at different strength purely because of screening and refining.
Screening and cleaning stages
The number and type of stages determines how much contaminant reaches the wire, which appears later as breaks and strength variation.
Refining strategy
Recycled fibre needs controlled refining to recover bonding. Over-refining hurts drainage and raises energy consumption without adding strength.
Rejects and sludge handling
Frequently left out of machine scope, and one of the cost items buyers discover late in a project.
Water circuit balance
Closed loops concentrate fines and stickies. Ask how the circuit is managed before you accept a water consumption claim.
06Forming and press section: where the sheet is made
Formation targets differ between the two grades. Testliner carries surface and appearance expectations; fluting is judged mainly on bonded strength and runnability. That difference is why a line advertised simply as "fluting/testliner" still needs the grade split stated in writing.
On used equipment, the press section is where refurbishment claims are vaguest. Ask for nip loads, roll covering condition and felt run condition as written items rather than accepting a general statement that the section was overhauled.
07Dryer section and cylinder count
Drying capacity is usually the constraint that appears when a line is pushed above its original design gsm or speed.
Cylinder count versus required evaporation
Count only means something together with cylinder diameter, steam pressure and hood efficiency. A cylinder count quoted alone is not a specification.
Cast iron versus steel cylinders
Material affects heat transfer and allowable pressure. Both are legitimate, but the pressure rating must match what you intend to run.
Condition evidence
For used cylinders, request thickness and hydrostatic test records, plus gear and bearing condition.
Hood and condensate system
A poor hood or condensate system wastes steam that you pay for every single operating day.
08Steam, condensate and energy
Specific steam consumption
Request it per tonne at your gsm. Boiler capacity is often sized from an assumption rather than a calculation.
Condensate recovery
Recovery affects both fuel cost and the load on water treatment.
Electrical load
Consider drive and vacuum load together, then confirm the site incomer capacity can carry them.
Who supplies what
Boiler, compressor and water treatment are commonly outside the machine supplier scope. Establish the boundary early.
LANCY does not publish generic consumption figures here. Real numbers vary by mill and must come from the machine data or a supplier guarantee.
09New, used and refurbished: three different risk profiles
| Path | What you are buying | Main risk | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | Designed capacity, warranty, complete documentation. | Longer lead time and higher capital outlay. | Greenfield projects and defined long-term production. |
| Used, as-is | An existing machine in its current condition. | Condition risk sits with the buyer. | Tight budget and urgent timing, provided inspection is rigorous. |
| Refurbished | A used machine with a defined rebuild scope. | Scope ambiguity: "refurbished" is not a specification. | Used economics with known-critical sections rebuilt. |
Repainting is not refurbishment. A refurbishment claim is only meaningful when the scope lists which components were replaced, machined or tested.
10What a comparable quotation must contain
If any of the following is missing, the quotation cannot be compared with another one — regardless of how precise the price looks.
Included and excluded lists
Two explicit named lists. "Standard scope" is not a scope.
Incoterms and delivery point
FOB versus CIF changes who carries freight, insurance and risk, and when.
Commissioning and training
Whether erection supervision and operator training are included, and for how many days.
Spare parts
Commissioning spares and first-year recommended spares, listed as separate line items.
Warranty and guarantees
What is actually guaranteed — capacity, steam consumption, or workmanship only — and under which conditions.
Validity and settlement currency
Quotation validity period and the currency of payment.
11Delivery, erection and commissioning
Lead times and commissioning durations are project-specific. LANCY states them per project once the scope is fixed, rather than publishing generic numbers that will not hold for your case.
Scope freeze before schedule
A delivery schedule quoted before the scope is fixed is not a commitment.
Dismantling and packing for used lines
Establish who dismantles, who labels, who packs, and what photographic record is produced.
Erection supervision
Confirm whether supervision is included in the price or billed as a separate daily rate.
Site readiness
Foundations, crane access, utilities and inlet services must be ready before the machine arrives.
Owner input needed: standard lead-time ranges and supervision terms, once LANCY confirms them.
12Buyer verification checklist
The sequence we recommend before any price is agreed.
Identity and nameplate
Match machine serial and nameplate data to what appears in the quotation.
Running versus dismantled
If the machine is running, request a live run at your target gsm. If dismantled, request the dismantling record and storage conditions.
Measurement, not description
Trim width, cylinder count, roll face and drive ratings should be measured and photographed.
Documents
Pressure vessel records, drawings, maintenance history and electrical documentation.
Independent inspection
Where the value justifies it, use an inspector who reports to you rather than to the seller.
Payment tied to evidence
Release payments against verification milestones, not calendar dates.
13Spare and wear parts
Commissioning spares
Consumables required during start-up, agreed in the contract rather than discovered on site.
Critical wearing parts
Felts, wires, roll coverings and seals — confirm the supply route and lead time into your country.
Long-lead electrical items
Drives and control cards are the most common reason a line stands idle after a breakdown.
Documentation for local sourcing
Drawings and part numbers let you source locally instead of waiting on the original supplier.
14Evidence LANCY provides for a candidate machine
This is the evidence set we assemble per candidate machine. Items marked as pending need material from LANCY before they can be shown publicly.
Written verification notes
Condition notes from inspection, including an explicit statement of what could not be checked.
Photographic record
Photographs tied to the specific unit. Pending the LANCY asset package.
Scope and exclusion list
Produced per candidate before any price discussion begins.
Document pack
Drawings and test records, where the seller releases them.
Pending owner input: real machine photographs, a sample document pack and the standard evidence checklist. No stock photography is used as a substitute.
16Next step
You do not need final parameters to start. A trim range, a gsm range and a target tonnage are enough for us to search and to tell you honestly whether a match exists.