Customer Success Story: Dunacell Boosts Efficiency with IMG‑S Moisture Measurement
How Dunacell Improved Transparency & Efficiency with Dunakontroll’s first HPNA System adapted for Measuring Moisture in Straw Bales
PROJECT INFORMATION
Completely synergize resource taxing relationships via premier.
Client name
Dunacell
Start time
Installation: 2016
Category
Cellulose
Location
Hungary
Customer Background
Dunacell Kft. is a leading European producer of natural food fibers, headquartered in Dunaújváros, Hungary.
- Founded: 1993 (with roots back to 1962)
- Ownership: wholly owned by the German Josef Rettenmaier Holding (JRS) Group
- Core products: food-grade fibers derived from annual plant residues — especially wheat and oat straw — along with compost produced from processing residues and biodegradable waste
- Core products: food-grade fibers derived from annual plant residues — especially wheat and oat straw — along with compost produced from processing residues and biodegradable waste
- Scale: ~160–170 employees, annual revenues in the tens of billions of Hungarian forints, headquarters at Papírgyári út 42., Dunaújváros, Hungary
- Investments: in 2022, Dunacell announced a ~HUF 7 billion (≈ EUR 19.6 million) expansion to build new capabilities for powdered dietary fiber
Challenge: Manual, Inaccurate & Labor-Intensive Moisture Measurement
Moisture content plays a decisive role in Dunacell’s production process:
- Higher moisture → weaker fiber structure, lower productivity, and higher costs.
- Lower moisture → stronger fibers, higher output per unit time, and more favorable economics.
“We don’t want to pay for the water in the straw — only for the pure fiber.”
Before IMG‑S, moisture was measured manually with handheld moisture measurement devices. This method was:
- Time-consuming and labor-intensive
- Non-representative, as it sampled only a small portion of a bale
- Increasingly impractical, as modern baling machines produced denser bales that were difficult to open
- A source of supplier disputes and repeated measurements, especially as traffic volumes increased
The primary motivation: the need for faster, more accurate, and more transparent measurement.
Our Success storys
Solution: Industrial Moisture Gate (IMG‑S) Results and benefits
Implementation of the Moisture Gate, developed collaboratively with Dunakontroll, transformed Dunacell moisture measurement process:
“Faster, more efficient, and more accurate measurement, all supported by digitalized data handling, eliminating manual work.”
Results & Benefits
Daily operations
The IMG-S system has transformed Dunacell’s daily operations. By providing accurate and transparent measurements, it has eliminated supplier disputes and strengthened trust across the supply chain.
Loading time
Just as importantly, the system has dramatically accelerated the receiving process: what once took around 15 minutes per truckload now takes only 5 minutes.
Efficiency
With 15–20 trucks delivering 250–300 tons of straw every day, this improvement saves Dunacell roughly 60 hours each month. Beyond the time savings, the automation reduces manual work and ensures consistent, reliable data to support production efficiency.
Why It Matters
Moisture measurement is not just a technical issue at Dunacell — it is directly tied to fiber quality, profitability, and supplier fairness.
Dunacell’s story demonstrates how IMG‑S technology transforms biomass and agricultural fiber operations.
Contact Dunakontroll today to discover how IMG solutions can help your business achieve greater efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.
