Pulp and Paper Automation Market Report 2025

This report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s historic and forecast market growth by geography.

The pulp and paper automation market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $6.32 billion in 2024 to $6.89 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to demand for increased efficiency, integration of supply chain, focus on product quality and consistency, globalization of markets.

The pulp and paper automation market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $9.12 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to industry 4 integration, rising demand for sustainable solutions, advanced robotics and automation, remote monitoring and control, customization and personalization. Major trends in the forecast period include technological innovation, predictive maintenance, advanced analytics for decision support, cloud-based automation platforms, advancements in control systems.

The increasing demand for industrial automation is expected to propel the growth of the pulp and paper automation market going forward. Industrial automation uses advanced technologies such as robotics, control systems, and computer software to streamline and optimize manufacturing processes, reducing human intervention and enhancing efficiency and productivity in industrial settings. Industrial automation systems monitor and control various pulp and paper production stages to improve product quality, reduce waste, and minimize energy consumption. For instance, in October 2022, according to the International Federation of Robotics report, a Germany-based non-profit organization, factories worldwide witnessed a record-breaking surge in the installation of industrial robots, reaching an all-time high of 517,385 units. The Americas experienced a notable increase, with 50,712 industrial robots installed, a 31% rise from the previous year. Specifically, installations soared by 14% within the United States, totaling 34,987 units in 2021. Therefore, the increasing demand for industrial automation is driving the growth of the pulp and paper automation market.

Major companies operating in the pulp and paper automation market are developing innovative products such as Bleached Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp (BCTMP) technology to drive their revenues in the market. BCTMP is a mechanical pulping process that uses sodium sulfite for impregnation. The BCTMP technology produces high-brightness, hardwood-based, customized TCF (total chlorine-free) pulps for various uses, including printing and writing papers, tissue products, paperboard products, wood-free papers, and specialty papers. For instance, in January 2023, Valmet, a Europe-based developer and supplier of process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries, launched the Valmet Polymer Concentration Measurement (Valmet PCM), an advanced optical inline polymer measurement system. This innovation is designed to measure polymer concentration in real-time, enabling the optimization of polymer usage in industrial wastewater treatment as well as in paper and board production applications. The Valmet PCM is the first of its kind, offering enhanced accuracy and efficiency in monitoring and controlling polymer concentration, ultimately contributing to improved process performance and resource utilization.

In July 2023, Valmet Oyj, a Finland-based developer and supplier of process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries, acquired Körber’s business area tissue for an amount of EUR 380 million (0.4294 billion USD). This acquisition aims to strengthen Valmet's position in the tissue industry and create the market's most comprehensive technology, automation, and service offering, covering the entire tissue value chain. The acquisition complements Valmet's tissue-making offering with solid expertise and complete solutions from tissue conversion and packaging technologies. Körber is a Germany-based company that offers pulp and paper automation.

Major companies operating in the pulp and paper automation market are Microsoft Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., Amazon Web Services Inc., Siemens AG, General Electric Company, IBM Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Schneider Electric SE, Honeywell International Inc., SAP SE, ABB Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., Parker Hannifin Corporation, Andritz AG, Rockwell Automation Inc., Omron Corporation, Fanuc Corporation, Fuji Electric Co. Ltd., Baker Hughes Company, NV Bekaert SA, BTG Group BV, Metso Corporation, Valmet Corporation, Voith Group, Yaskawa Electric Corporation, Pentair plc, Ecolab Inc. (formerly Nalco Holding Company), Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Solenis LLC, Kemira Oyj.

Europe was the largest region in the pulp and paper automation market in 2024. The regions covered in the pulp and paper automation market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the pulp and paper automation market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The pulp and paper automation market consists of sales of operator training systems (OTS), control valves, packaging equipment, material handling equipment, process electrochemical systems, and process engineering tools. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

Pulp and paper automation involves integrating state-of-the-art technological systems and procedures within pulp and paper manufacturing plants to improve the industry's productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. This automation covers a broad spectrum of applications, ranging from individual measurements to comprehensive mill-wide projects, with objectives including optimizing pulping processes, ensuring consistent product quality, boosting energy generation, and reducing energy and chemical usage.

The main product types of pulp and paper automation are distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), sensors and transmitters, flowmeters, manufacturing execution systems (MES), asset performance management (APM), advanced process control (APC), others. Distributed control systems (DCS) are computerized systems that control processes in various parts of a plant, allowing for efficient coordination and monitoring. These are used in various applications such as pre-press printing, print and publication, paper mills processing, and paper packaging and also by various end-users such as paper, pulp, tissue, and board.

The main product types of pulp and paper automation are distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), sensors and transmitters, flowmeters, manufacturing execution systems (MES), asset performance management (APM), advanced process control (APC), others. Distributed control systems (DCS) are computerized systems that control processes in various parts of a plant, allowing for efficient coordination and monitoring. These are used in various applications such as pre-press printing, print and publication, paper mills processing, and paper packaging and also by various end-users such as paper, pulp, tissue, and board.

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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