With more than 20 installations worldwide, OnEfficiency.Strength is redefining the standards for intelligent paper production. A recent implementation at DS Smith Witzenhausen demonstrates how this digital solution delivers measurable improvements in quality stabilization and operational efficiency. Designed to harness the full power of real-time data, OnEfficiency.Strength uses virtual sensors to predict paper strength and automatically adjusts key process parameters—including jet/wire ratio, refiner settings, starch application, and fiber type —according to cost efficiency and target specifications. The result: optimized production with reduced material consumption and energy use.
At the Witzenhausen mill, which produces 430,000 tons of corrugated base paper annually on PM 1 in the 115–210 gsm range, the module initially focused on raw material savings. “In the further course, we defined a new focus on quality stabilization and reduction of overprocessing,” says Daniel Goetze, Production Manager PM 1 at DS Smith Witzenhausen. “It was impressive to see how flexibly and quickly the system responded. Process changes that operators previously made empirically across multiple tambours are now performed quickly and effectively in a single tambour with OnEfficiency.Strength.”
This shift has enabled real-time quality control, providing enhanced production stability and precision. The system allows operators to freely balance competing goals—such as raw material reduction, strength control, and quality consistency—by adjusting parameters to match production priorities.
“The monitoring shows us that deviations from the mean value are decreasing. This means that fluctuations in strength have been significantly reduced and the paper machine is running even more stably,” explains Nils Schmidt, Production Supervisor at the site. “In addition, this value is now much closer to the specification, which has a direct impact on cost savings,” he adds.
OnEfficiency.Strength is available as a standalone solution and is also being integrated into Voith’s MillOne ecosystem. MillOne centralizes all mill data into one digital production hub, creating new levels of integration and consistency to support expert decision-making. With real-time analytics, predictive maintenance, and intelligent process control, the system contributes to lower costs, higher productivity, and increased profitability.