Bently Nevada has closed a brownfield contract with Arauco—one of Latin America’s largest forestry, woodpulp and bioenergy producers—to monitor and protect its pulp and paper plants with plant-wide condition monitoring. The agreement integrates almost 3,000 sensors into Bently Nevada’s System 1 platform to protect more than 1,100 rotating machines across four plants, and it marks Bently Nevada’s largest move so far beyond its traditional oil & gas and power-generation base into the pulp and paper industry.
Quick answer: what did Bently Nevada win at Arauco?
Bently Nevada was selected as the preferred supplier to deliver a plant-wide, integrated condition monitoring program for Arauco’s pulp and paper operations. The scope includes nearly 3,000 sensors connected to System 1, covering over 1,100 machines across four plants, plus portable data collectors (Scout 220 and 240), Decision Support software, and remote monitoring delivered from a new Remote Monitoring Center in Campinas, Brazil. Arauco invited Bently Nevada into a competitive bid alongside major competitors, and the award followed a four-month negotiation period.
The deal at a glance
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Customer | Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (Arauco) |
| Contract type | Brownfield — retrofit monitoring on existing plants |
| Monitoring model | Plant-wide, integrated condition monitoring |
| Sensors | Almost 3,000, integrated into System 1 |
| Machines monitored | Over 1,100 rotating machines |
| Plants | Four plants (the bid covered Licancel, Valdivia and Constitución in Chile) |
| Core platform | System 1, with VbOnline online monitoring |
| Portables | Scout 220 and Scout 240 data collectors / analyzers |
| Services | Decision Support and remote monitoring |
| Remote operations | New Remote Monitoring Center in Campinas, Brazil |
| Selection | Preferred supplier after a four-month competitive bid |
What Arauco is deploying: the solution stack
The program is built around Bently Nevada’s asset health platform and a mix of online, wireless and portable instrumentation:
- System 1 — the plant-wide asset health management platform that brings sensor data, process data and control-system data into a single machinery health view. Bently Nevada cites System 1, together with VbOnline, as the core technology strength behind the win.
- VbOnline — Bently Nevada’s online and wireless vibration monitoring capability, highlighted in the award as a cutting-edge differentiator for continuous, low-maintenance coverage of rotating equipment.
- Scout 220 and Scout 240 — portable data collectors and analyzers used for route-based data collection, balancing and troubleshooting work that complements the permanently installed online system.
- Decision Support — Bently Nevada’s expert diagnostics and analysis services that turn collected data into maintenance decisions.
- Remote Monitoring Center (Campinas, Brazil) — a new facility that provides 24/7 remote monitoring and machinery analysis, extending expert coverage to Arauco’s sites without requiring local specialists on every shift.
Why Arauco selected Bently Nevada
Arauco invited Bently Nevada to join a bid process to provide asset management for its Licancel, Valdivia and Constitución plants. Because major competitors were also involved, the local team had to build a proposal centered on leading technology and cost competitiveness. After a four-month negotiation and several technical discussions, Bently Nevada was named the preferred supplier.
According to Bently Nevada, the deciding factor was technology strength—specifically the System 1 and VbOnline capabilities—combined with the flexibility and commercial intensity shown by the local team during the bid.
From oil & gas to pulp & paper: why this matters
Bently Nevada’s traditional installed base sits in oil & gas, power generation and general industry. Pulp and paper is a continuous-process industry where unplanned downtime on a single line can stop production for days, so the economic case for plant-wide monitoring is strong. The Arauco award is therefore more than a single contract: it is a reference win that positions Bently Nevada for broader adoption in a new vertical.
Bently Nevada frames the deal as aligned with Baker Hughes’ strategy “to position ourselves for new frontiers”—taking core condition-monitoring expertise into industrial markets beyond the company’s historical heartland.
Building on a longer Arauco relationship
The new brownfield contract scales a relationship that already existed. In its first-quarter 2021 results, Baker Hughes reported that Bently Nevada had secured a contract to supply plant-wide condition monitoring for Arauco’s pulp and paper operations in Chile—then described as 900+ sensors integrated to System 1 for 450 machines across three sites.
During the COVID-19 period, Bently Nevada’s local team also performed remote Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of 109 Field Monitoring Units (FMUs) for the Arauco project, using System 1 EVO for Industrials, 1,550 accelerometer sensors and 20 Ranger Pro wireless sensors. The newly announced brownfield contract grows that installed base to almost 3,000 sensors and 1,100+ machines.
What this means for plant operators
For reliability and maintenance leaders in continuous-process industries, the Arauco program is a useful reference for several decisions:
- Plant-wide monitoring is now a board-level reliability strategy, not just a protection system on a few critical trains.
- Brownfield retrofits are feasible at scale, even across more than 1,100 machines on existing sites.
- Remote monitoring centers extend expert diagnostics to plants that cannot staff specialist analysis around the clock.
- Standardizing on one platform (System 1) reduces integration cost and training overhead compared with mixed-vendor stacks.
For sites already running Bently Nevada hardware—or planning to expand with VbOnline, Scout portables or System 1—the program also has practical implications for spare-parts planning, calibration and lifecycle support. See our overview of condition monitoring for paper mill machinery for the asset types typically covered.
Frequently asked questions
How many sensors and machines are in the Bently Nevada Arauco contract?
Almost 3,000 sensors are integrated into System 1, monitoring more than 1,100 rotating machines across four plants.
Which Arauco plants are covered?
The competitive bid covered asset management for the Licancel, Valdivia and Constitución plants in Chile. The announced program scope spans four plants in total.
What products are included besides System 1?
The deal also includes VbOnline online monitoring, Scout 220 and Scout 240 portable data collectors, Decision Support, and remote monitoring from the new Campinas, Brazil Remote Monitoring Center.
Is this Bently Nevada’s first work with Arauco?
No. Bently Nevada supplied plant-wide monitoring for Arauco in 2021 (900+ sensors, 450 machines across three sites) and performed remote Factory Acceptance Testing of 109 Field Monitoring Units during the COVID-19 period.
Why is pulp and paper significant for Bently Nevada?
It represents a strategic expansion beyond oil & gas and power into a continuous-process industry where unplanned downtime is very costly, and it aligns with Baker Hughes’ “new frontiers” growth strategy.
Related reading
- Condition Monitoring for Paper Mill Machinery
- Bently Nevada System 1 at 20 Years: 10,000+ Users
- Bently Nevada’s AI Machine Health Service for Balance-of-Plant Assets
Sources: Baker Hughes, “Bently Nevada advances its presence on Pulp & Paper industry in Latin America” (success story, published October 17, 2026); Baker Hughes First Quarter 2021 Results (Arauco plant-wide monitoring contract).
