AFT (Aikawa Fiber Technology) has successfully started up a new MaxEdge™ refiner at Zinc Nacional’s paperboard mill in Mexico, marking another milestone in the long-term collaboration between the two companies.
Zinc Nacional’s paperboard mill produces a range of paperboard and specialty grades for domestic and international markets, using recovered paper and board as its primary raw material. The mill recycles more than 95,000 tonnes of paper and board annually and has a production capacity of 7,000 tonnes per month.
The new MaxEdge refiner further expands the range of AFT technologies in use at the mill. Over the years, AFT has supported Zinc Nacional with recycled fiber stock preparation technology, supplying solutions across the process from low-consistency pulping to screening and cleaning. The successful start-up continues this cooperation, combining AFT’s refining technology with its broader stock preparation expertise.
“Our collaboration with AFT has developed over many years and across different areas of our stock preparation process. Their understanding of our process and the support provided by their team have been important throughout our projects. We are pleased to continue this cooperation with the successful start-up of the new refiner,” says Rafael Lerma, Director, Zinc Nacional.
“We greatly value our long-standing relationship with Zinc Nacional. This start-up is more than the commissioning of a new refiner – it reflects the trust that has developed through years of working together. We are proud to support Zinc Nacional with technologies and application expertise across the stock preparation process and look forward to continuing to develop solutions together,” says Olli-Pekka Riippa, Product Manager, AFT.
MaxEdge Refining Technology
The MaxEdge refiner is designed for efficient and controlled fiber development, supporting stable refining performance, paper quality and energy efficiency. Combined with AFT’s application expertise and wider portfolio of stock preparation technologies, it enables mills to optimize refining as part of the overall fiber preparation process.
The new MaxEdge refiner was successfully started up in September 2026
Photo/AFT
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