Two other partners, a Portuguese pulp mill and a Dutch paper mill, have both made significant cost savings while maintaining product quality. The system will soon be available commercially and could be used by other industries such as food processing. I ndustrial processes that use natural raw materials can be difficult to control. A mill producing wood pulp for the paper industry must produce a consistent product, yet wood varies in character throughout the year and often comes from different sources as market prices fluctuate. Pulp quality varies as a result.
Paper mills using recycled paper rather than virgin pulp have the same problem.
To ensure that the pulp always meets customer specifications, the mill must set its standards a little higher. If there is high process variability this is expensive, for it means that for much of the time the mill is making pulp that is better than its customers need or will pay for. Paper manufacturers and food processors have the same problem. AI has a long academic pedigree, but its successful application to real-world situations is problematic. The users are a small Portuguese pulp mill, Companhia de Celulose do Caima, and Roermond Papier, a Dutch paper mill that makes only recycled paper.