Forestry & Paper
Solving Your Forestry and Pulp & Paper Equipment Challenges
Creative solutions with the Service & Engineering support you need
Rotating equipment used in pulp and paper processing must function reliably under a variety of extreme operating conditions. From tree harvesting, to wood processing, to the pulping process and finally in the paper mill itself, the equipment used must withstand shock combined with high and often unbalanced loading while processing product that is wet, abrasive and often contains process chemicals. Thordon bearings, bushings and wear components, offer solutions proven to dramatically increase Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). Check out some of the applications below!
Slasher - Grapple Bushings
Forestry Innovation! Fit ThorPlas-Blue for Slasher Grapple Bushings, to replace bronze and extend service life and reduce greasing intervals.
Kiln Drying - Trolley Wheel Bushings
Use ThorPlas-Blue bearings to transform trolley and container wheels from a maintenance headache to a trouble-free and grease-free solution! These bushings have been proven in the field to outlast bronze bearings by ~5x, enduring extreme temperature and pressure!
Sawmill - Bumper Bars
In a Canadian sawmill, rubber bumper were replaced with the Thordon SXL elastomer. The durable SXL's impact resistance and wear resilience conquered the challenge. Now, as bumper arms need replacing, they're being retrofitted with SXL for long-lasting success!
Dewatering Press - Roller Bearing Upgrade
In a pulp and paper mill, upgrade greased roller bearings in a dewatering press with ThorPlas-Blue. The problem? Dirty water and greased roller bearings don't mix! Eliminate the need for grease with a grease-free bearing solution, and eliminate the break downs.
Log Skidder - Pivot Bushings
Replaced greased bronze pivot bushings with ThorPlas-Blue self-lubricated bearings for extended service intervals.
Vertical Pumps - Lineshaft Bearing Upgrades
Replace bronze bearings in vertical pumps with Thordon SXL elastomer, and enjoy greatly extended replacement intervals. One customer went from 6 months with bronze, to over 2 years after installing SXL!
Lime Kiln - Screw Feeder Bearings
Improve bearing performance with material upgrades! One customer had PTFE bearings failing after only 3 weeks in the strong Base (pH14), and high temperature (104°C) operating conditions. But with Thordon PT80 high temperature elastomer, the service life was substantially extended to 6+ months.
Pulping - Stock Chest Bearing
Thordon SXL elastomer can be used as the perfect upgrade for any worn out bearing material.
Smelt Tank - Agitator Shaft Stabilizer Bearing
SXL bearings, a robust solution, were installed underneath the packing box to stabilize the agitator shaft on green liquor tanks. These agitators handle corrosive caustic product, and reducing leakage is crucial. With SXL holding the shaft stable, re-packing has been reduced from once a month, to once a year!
Agitators - Shaft Bearing Upgrade
Some customer encounter wear problems with PTFE bearings in their agitators, necessitating frequent replacements every 2 to 4 months. Upgrading to Thordon SXL elastomer, and fitting a cold water flush to the bearing can almost eliminate wear from these components and substantially improve the reliability of the equipment.
Recycled Paper Conveyor – Wear Pads
SXL elastomer wear pads can be utilized to replace UHMWPE on conveyor equipment. UHMWPE is relatively inexpensive, but often has a short lifespan of 2-3 months. From field testing with several customers, Thordon SXL has been shown to greatly improve the wear life, with many SXL wear pad service life measured in YEARS, not months!
Log Washer – Pillow Block Retrofit
Conventional pillow-block style roller bearings have a tough time surviving the wet environment in a log washer. These pillow-blocks can be upgraded directly with a quick-split Thordon SXL elastomer bearing, no shaft disassembly needed. Eco-friendly water-lubrication means that no grease or oil is required!
Sawmill - Bandsaw Linear Blade Guide
Use ThorPlas-Blue self-lubricated bushing material for bandsaw blade guides to increase wear life and improve saw performance. These can be custom machined to suit the exact equipment requirements for a direct retrofit.
Paper Cutter - Linear Bearing
These ThorPlas-Blue linear guides can be used to replace obsolete ball-bearing guides and increase time between replacements.
Bleachery Drum – Pillow Block Bearing Upgrade
Another great upgrade to split-billow block roller bearings in low-speed rotating applications. Traditional roller bearing replacements can cause extended shutdowns to remove & replace all of the components, but with a split-insert design it can take as little as 2 hours with the new split design and thrust flange. Improved efficiency!
