“The goal with our technical customer service is to search for benefits for our customers, for example in their use of material, energy and other cost savings,” says Henry Guo, Technical Customer Service Manager, Metsä Fibre, Asia-Pacific Region.
The services include pulp benchmarking, pulp refining audits and fine management audits with Metsä Fibre’s tools like FIT (Furnishing Improvement Tool) and FORE (Fibre Optimisation and Refining Evaluation), and also even cooperate with customer’s chemical suppliers.
Additionally, start-up support, customer integrated pulp refining research, troubleshooting and training are offered to fulfil customer’s technical requirements.
“Many customers presume we are merely a pulp provider, but we actually offer much more support than they anticipate,” Guo adds.
Projects of varying duration
The value-adding services are usually managed as projects with a clear start and goal. The length depends entirely on the customer’s needs.
The comparison of pulp grades can be done during customer meetings using Metsä Fibre's extensive database of its own and competitors' pulps. This way, it is easy to determine the most suitable pulp grades for the customer's purpose.
Fine management audits, which are typically carried out for tissue paper customers after optimizing the grinding system, may take longer. Often, information is also needed from chemical suppliers.
“If all conditions are smooth, a full fine management project to minimise the drawbacks of extractives, reduce the solid content in circulation and wastewater, as well as dusting in tissue, can be concluded in 1–2 months,” Guo says.
Fast response is key to excellent relations
Guo considers claim handling to play an important role in their service. If clients have concerns, for instance about the pulp net weight, packaging, pH, odour, or impurities issues, they need a response immediately.
“We believe a quick service and ease of handling claims are key to excellent customer relations,” Guo emphasises.
Improvements in tissue production
Metsä Fibre’s technical customer service has, for example, provided valuable support with a Chinese key account in their tissue production for the past ten years.
In 2014, when this key account acquired its first tissue paper machine, start-up support and a refining audit was completed, which facilitated the selection of suitable soft wood qualities and filling material.
Five years later, when the customer obtained a second paper machine, Metsä Fibre’s technical service provided a fine management audit to achieve the full potential of the fibre and fibre fines.
“Time is money, and with our help, the customer saved time in improving the tissue making process,” Guo says.
Support in sustainability concerns
An increasing number of Metsä Fibre’s customers in China are paying attention to sustainability.
They are aware of Finland being a frontrunner in forest management and environmental care. Therefore, Metsä Fibre’s Technical Customer Service acts as a bridge to share ideas about sustainability concepts.
“We have, for instance, organised sustainability training and helped our customers to complete sustainability forms required from overseas customers,” Guo says.
Chinese market is growing
“China has seen a tremendous development in the past forty years, both in machine technology and paper making technology, and the market keeps growing, contrary to many other countries,” Guo says.
Although there is fierce competition in Asia from other pulp producers, Guo trusts that Metsä Fibre is providing a better service, in addition to the high-quality long fibre pulp.
“The feedback we receive from our customers is extremely positive. Other softwood pulp suppliers do not offer similar services.”