We are manufacturing web cleaning equipment and have more than 50 years experience with industrial dust removal in reel-to-reel and sheet-fed production processes.
Corrugman : Could we know more about Kelva?
Dhwanil Mehta : KELVA is very familiar industry brand name as far as web cleaning is concerned. Over the past five decades, KELVA has established itself as inventor and pioneer of web cleaning technology in this global market. KELVA is the world’s leading supplier of web and sheet cleaning solutions for the treatment and converting of material such as paper, corrugated board, fabric, non-woven, film or glass, removing smallest particles, dust, fibers and other foreign matter without affecting the production processes.
CM : What are your company’s principles, mission & vision?
DM : KELVA as a company belongs to the parent organisation – Chromos Group AG, a Switzerland based 75-year-old family-owned company. A strong value system is inculcated in the foundation of Chromos Group and in our Charter of Cooperation, we set out in nine values how we want to shape our cooperation together.
These values are – Trust, Respect, Team spirit, Openness, Commitment, Professionalism, Listen, Joy of learning and Fun. Here, I want to particularly highlight the value of ‘Listening’. It is not only about listening to our employees, but we do also listen to our customers very carefully, consider their feedback and act positively to become a more sensitive and customer centric solutions provider.
“Our specific systems for corrugated board, tissue, non-woven, film, glass, glass fiber, printing and other finishing assure you of the best web cleaning solution for your application”
CM : Can you list the key products offered by KELVA and explain their main applications?
DM : KELVA manufactures contact type web cleaning system, non contact type web cleaning system, pneumatic diaphragm pumps, brakes and tension control systems. Web cleaning systems are for cleaning dust and removing other loose particles from web surfaces. Pumps are for ink and other liquid circulation on printing machines. Brakes and tension controllers are web handling equipment.
CM : What about your technical features of your manufacturing facility?
DM : We have state of the art manufacturing facility at our headquarter company location at Dielsdorf, Switzerland which is in the outskirts of Zurich. Other than this, we also have further manufacturing units in Germany and Netherlands and a warehouse in Augsburg, Germany. From all these European locations, we produce our standard and customised systems to cater to the needs and orders of our worldwide customers.
Outside Europe, I work as a KELVA employee, stationed at Ahmedabad in India and responsible for all Asia, Middle East and Africa markets. As far as our business channel partners are concerned, we have a strong distribution network in all leading industrial nations around the world. We are happy to mention that some of our distributors are associated with KELVA products for last two decades and have been successfully promoting, selling and growing KELVA business in their market regions.
CM : How do KELVA web cleaning systems ensure efficient dust and contaminant removal without affecting the integrity of the web material?
DM : As mentioned above, our non contact cleaning system doesn’t touch the web surface so, it doesn’t disturb any material property or surface characteristics.
The air flow we set is always in accordance with paper thickness and speed of the machine. We design and install the system in such a way that it is mounted as close as possible to the web surface from both the sides which ensures efficient dust pick up and since, our filters are automatically cleaned at regular intervals, they are always free to take new dust from the incoming material hence, we never compromise with the system efficiency or its performance.
CM : Can you explain the core differences between KELVA’s contact and non-contact web cleaning technologies, and what are the advantages of each system in different applications?
DM : Contact cleaner cleans the web through physical contact whereas in Non-contact system, there is no contact between the cleaning system and the material. In contact cleaning system, we use a pair of polymer and adhesive rollers to remove dust and in non contact cleaning system, we use a cleaner head, filter unit and piping for air blowing and vacuum to clean the dust.
Contact type system is more applicable where dust load is not too high, and a very precise cleaning is required. Non-contact type system applications is suitable for and environments having medium to heavy dust load. Dust collection contaminates adhesive rollers in contact type systems so, it becomes a routine consumable whereas non-contact type is completely consumable and maintenance free system.
CM : What are the main factors that determine the maximum web speed for KELVA web cleaning systems and how does speed impact the effectiveness of cleaning?
DM : Speed is not the restricting criteria for our web cleaning systems. Our cleaners are designed to perform efficiently on machines running up to 2000mpm speed (in paper manufacturing and other high volume printing machines). It is just the air flow and filter capacity that we choose in such a way that the system performance doesn’t fall behind with the web speed.
CM : How does KELVA’s static neutralization system work, and why is it essential in web cleaning processes, particularly for static sensitive materials?
DM : As long as the static charge is active, dust particles are not completely free from the web surface hence can’t be removed optimally. In order to neutralise the charge of dust particles, we have to create localised ionisation through our antistatic bars which makes the dust loose and easily removable. We use antistatic bars that work on 24VDC or 230VAC and they are integrated with the cleaners.
CM : KELVA uses low-silicone polymer rollers in its contact cleaning systems. How does this material choice impact the cleaning performance and longevity of the rollers?
DM : Contact cleaners are not preferred on corrugated board surfaces hence, this question is not quite relevant with the subject. However, our polymer rollers have a certain surface depending on hardness material and and applications, we can vary the surface hardness of the rollers. Second, the gentle contact between the roller and material surface gives wear free running and longevity to the roller.
CM : What are the key considerations when selecting the appropriate size and configuration for a KELVA web cleaning system, especially in industries like packaging or printing?
DM : It is maximum web width of the material and running speed. Next is location of mounting. Other than this basic information, we don’t need much from the users to select the right size and configuration of the system.
CM : In KELVA’s contact cleaning systems, the adhesive rolls can be replenished without stopping the machine. How does this feature improve production efficiency What challenges might arise in ensuring the system remains operational during adhesive changes?
DM : Customers should always have adhesive rollers on their stock so, they can react immediately for replacement needs. Roller changing process is usually done during job changes so, the time is already available with the customer. However, it is always important to keep eyes on no. of adhesive sheets left on a roller so that one has not to suffer in the middle of the production.
CM : KELVA emphasizes the low maintenance cost of its web cleaning solutions. What specific design features contribute to this low maintenance requirement, and how do they reduce wear and tear on the system over time?
DM : KELVA filter unit has got automatic filter cleaning feature, and it keeps filter plates clean and manual maintenance free. Furthermore, the filter plates last for a long time, say between 12 to 15 years, without any spare requirement or replacement. With these prominent features in place, I can even correct your question that KELVA emphasizes on nil maintenance, not low maintenance!
CM :What role do KELVA’s filter/fan units play in maintaining system efficiency, and how does air recirculation contribute to energy savings and environmental considerations?
DM : We use and circulate the same air which is inside the filter unit for blowing and suction. There is only one common motor for air blowing and suction and it is also very effective so that we can achieve desired outcomes at a reasonable energy consumption.
We don’t leave the dust into the surrounding environment but collect inside the filter units so, it doesn’t contaminate the environment further from occupation health and safety perspective.
CM : How do KELVA’s web cleaning systems adapt to different materials such as film, foil, tissue, and corrugated board? Can you provide examples of how the technology is optimized for each of these materials?
DM : We have different web cleaner models for high tension and low tension webs and suitable fan filter units to optimise the system configuration for a particular application. We can offer many different system variations to our customers as per their specific and customised requirements and thus, we adapt to the site conditions and customer expectations.
CM : KELVA offers different models for various web widths, such as the LC, LCW, WWC, and WWCMR. What are the key differences between these models, and how do you decide which one is suitable for a particular production line?
DM : These are the different models of contact type cleaners. They are available in single side and double side cleaning configuration and each model is restricted to a certain width range. These are the deciding factors for offering the right cleaner model to the customer.
CM : How important is the QA for an equipment manufacturing company and how do you assure the quality consistency of your products?
DM : Quality of a product, is probably, the only factor which keeps an equipment manufacturer alive in the market at any given time. Through stringent quality checks on our inward material supply and outward finished products, KELVA has been getting repeat orders from its customers OEMs and End users and winning their trust over all these years to attain leadership position in the market. Putting small and big system installations together, KELVA’s current tally is around 7500 working systems globally and such milestone for a company can only be achieved by delivering finest quality products consistently over the years.
CM : May we know about your environment management policies?
DM : As any other corporate company and to meet the need of an hour, we are equally responsible to preserve and protect the environment through our products and practices. Our new design of the systems is energy efficient, and it requires minimal power and air consumption to restrict additional energy loading on our customers. Since, many of our projects are retrofit jobs on existing machines, we must consider this point cautiously and responsibly.
Secondly, the dust that we extract from the running material during the processes, we collect it into an enclosed bucket or tray which is a part of the fan-filter unit of our system. We do not release the dust out into the environment and thus, we try to keep workspace as well as overall environment cleaner. Our systems also ensure lower noise levels and decreased use of chemicals during production processes.
CM : Challenges and Competitions you are facing in Indian Market?
DM : Challenges and competition are inevitable in any market for any business and we, at KELVA, are no exception. The foremost challenge for a company is to understand market dynamics and its product acceptability while venturing into a specific country or an unexplored market. KELVA has been around in Indian market since last 15 years and it’s been a journey of a lot of concept selling, product promotion and similar marketing activities to expand coverage and reaching out to maximum users.
Investment justification for the users/investors has remained the biggest barrier for KELVA however, through the product quality and its niche purpose and with increasing quality awareness, we are growing steadily in India year-on-year.
CM : How is technology advancing in the Indian corrugation industry?
DM : Technology advancement is very encouraging in Indian corrugation industry. We get to see a good number of high-end printing machines being installed and producing high quality printing jobs. We still have a way to go in terms of multi graphic and solid print jobs on white board, but the trend is surely picking and won’t be too far in India. These jobs are exactly the target area for KELVA Web cleaning systems.
CM : What is your perspective on the growth of the Indian corrugation industry in recent years, and what are its future prospects?
DM : I have been witnessing Indian corrugation Industry since 2008/09 which has been growing ever since. The growth pattern is of course, cyclic and segmental but in general, the industry is taking necessary steps to move in the right direction and be in sync with international markets.
We have a big potential in our market and industry for future. We expect more international groups and corporates to enter our market to spur organic growth and an overall augmentation of the corrugation industry.
