UPM Nordland Papier scales John Crane water technology to cut pump consumption to near zero

Scaling water efficiency at the Dörpen mill

UPM Nordland Papier is expanding the deployment of John Crane's Smartflow IG technology across its paper mill in Dörpen, Germany. Following a series of highly successful initial installations where seal water consumption was reduced to practically zero, the facility has acquired additional units to progressively equip more pumps across its production lines. This move highlights a growing trend in the European paper sector in 2026, where marginal gains in auxiliary equipment are driving significant facility-wide resource savings.

The mechanics of passive water control

The Smartflow IG system is designed to automatically regulate the water used as barrier water in pumps equipped with double mechanical seals. According to John Crane, the technology can save up to 180 liters of freshwater per hour on each pump. What makes this system particularly relevant for legacy and modern mills alike is its reliance on a heat-sensitive shape-memory alloy. This allows the device to respond automatically to changing operating conditions without the need for any external power supply or complex electronic integration.

For maintenance and engineering teams, the appeal lies in the installation process. The units can be retrofitted without requiring major modifications to existing pump infrastructure, minimizing downtime during the upgrade phase. By ensuring that seal water is only used when cooling is strictly necessary, the system maintains operational reliability while eliminating the continuous, unmonitored flow that characterizes traditional setups.

Impact on overall mill sustainability

Water stewardship remains a critical operational metric for the global pulp and paper industry. UPM Nordland Papier currently operates with an approximate consumption of 4 cubic meters of freshwater per ton of paper produced. While already competitive, the progressive rollout of the Smartflow IG units across the Dörpen site will help push this metric even lower, directly supporting the mill's broader environmental targets and reducing the energy associated with water pumping and treatment.

The collaboration between UPM and John Crane underscores the importance of specialized flow-control engineering in achieving heavy industry sustainability goals. As mills face increasingly stringent environmental regulations and rising utility costs, eliminating the estimated 60% of seal failures caused by improper water flow management provides a dual benefit of enhanced uptime and reduced ecological footprint.

The decision to scale this passive, alloy-based technology demonstrates a pragmatic approach to resource management, proving that mechanical ingenuity often outperforms complex digital overlays in harsh industrial environments. Will the broader European paper industry accelerate the adoption of power-free auxiliary controls to finally push freshwater consumption below the 3 cubic meters per ton threshold? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai