Current Tissue News Headlines > Last Updated: 4 March, 2010

1. Pulppy Corelex in Vietnam in full production

The joint-venture company between Corelex Corporation of Japan and New Toyo Pulppy of Vietnam recently started up a 2.8 m wide tissue machine from A Celli Paper, according to the Italian company.

The Mill has an output of 80 tons/day of tissue products. A Celli supplied the approach flow as well as the combining slitter rewinder AC861 with unwind stands and calender 581. The opening ceremony is due on 4 March 2010.

For Corelex Group, this tissue machine is the third from A.Celli Paper. The other two, including one of double width (5.6 m) are in operation in Japan.

2. US expansions: Clearwater and First Quality (News from RISI)

Two US tissue producers are planning expansion projects, one with a $160 million two-year plan that includes converting lines and possibly a tissue paper machine, and the other for a site for a new PM, reports said.

Clearwater Paper initially plans on spending $30 million for two converting lines at one of four locations in the Southeast by second quarter 2011. Tissue paper from Clearwater mills in Las Vegas and Lewiston, ID, would feed the new lines.

Aiming to expand its private label business in the East, Clearwater official Matt Van Vleet said the new converting line product would be for new customers and additional business from existing customers.

The company is considering, but has made no final decision on, constructing a new through-air-dried (TAD) PM for making toilet paper and towels that would likely be located at the same site as the new converting lines, company officials said.

If the project is completed, Clearwater's converting capacity would rise to 40 million cases/yr from 30 million.

Also, First Quality Tissue, which runs a tissue paper mill in Lock Haven, PA, and announced plans last year for a new tissue PM at an undetermined site, was looking at locations in Georgia and South Carolina, according to local reports in Georgia. The sites are in Augusta, GA, and Anderson, SC. First Quality also was looking at a location in Utah last year.

3. Syassky orders Toscotec slitter rewinder for Russia

On 24 December 2009, Syassky Pulp & Paper Mill, based in Saint Petersburg, Russia, signed a contract with Toscotec for the supply of a TT WIND-H tissue slitter rewinder.

The main reason for the new project is to reduce paper losses on two old existing rewinders. The new state-of-the-art Toscotec rewinder will in fact serve two existing tissue machines, PM2 and PM3. Delivery is foreseen for May 2010.

The TT WIND-H features two unwind stands and can handle parent rolls of 4300 mm width and 2600 mm diameter at a maximum speed of 1600 m/min. The rewinder is equipped with an automatic slitting unit with 22 knives and with an automatic shaft handling system. The project includes all the necessary auxiliaries as well as control system, electrical cabinets and dedicated lubrication unit.

Syassky was founded in 1928 as one of the first paper mill of the Soviet period. It now has three tissue machines and sells the whole production in Russia and surrounding countries.

4. Kasuga of Japan orders Futura converting line

Kasuga of Fuji, Japan has ordered a tissue converting line from Futura SpA of Lucca, Italy. Startup is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

This 2.9-m machine will produce top quality embossed toilet tissue in single- and two-ply. The line will feature two unwind stands, JOI embosser, trim cutter, log saw and core winder.

Kasuga aims to enhance productive efficiency with the new line.

Futura sales manager Carlo Berti said: “We have worked closely with Kasuga, and it is a great honour and responsibility to supply a line for such a high level producer. Our lines have an established reputation for quality and ease of use, and we are confident that this line will take Kasuga to a new level of reliability, and guarantee a superb quality finished product.”

5. Hayat Kimya Turkey completes expansion with new rewinder

In February 2010, Turkish company Hayat Kymia AS signed a contract with Toscotec for the supply of a TT WIND-L tissue slitter rewinder for its new tissue production line to be installed in the company’s mill in Yenikoy, located near the city of Izmit.

Hayat Kimya, part of the Hayat Group with its headquarter in Istanbul, is a leading tissue producer in the growing Turkish market. The company has recently announced plans to double its production of tissue products in the Yenikoy mill by adding a new 70.000 ton/yr tissue line.

The Toscotec supply will complete the project scope and will be fully integrated in the production cycle being in line with the tissue machine and with the roll handling system.

The TT WIND-L features two unwind stands and can handle parent rolls of 5600 mm width and 3000 mm diameter at a maximum operating speed of 1800 m/min. The rewinder is equipped with an automatic slitting unit with 24 knives and with an automatic shaft handling system. The project, defined on a turnkey basis, includes all the necessary auxiliaries as well as the control system, electrical cabinets and dedicated lubrication and hydraulic units.

Start up is planned for December this year.

6. SCA builds much bigger market presence

On 16 February SCA officially opened its new Sovetsk tissue mill, located in the Tula region about two hours south of Moscow. The €90 million investment in a greenfield mill on an 8.1 hectare plot includes a new 30,000 ton/yr tissue machine, as well as DIP line, wastewater treatment plant, converting lines and distribution centre. PMT, which supplied the paper machine, was the lead supplier for the project.

SCA started to plan for a new tissue mill to serve the Moscow area as early as 2002, according to PMT. A feasibility study was conducted in 2006, and the formal decision to build a new mill was taken by SCA’s Board of Directors in 2007. The plant is the first greenfield mill in Russia since the 1970s.

Converting at the mill started in November 2008 and the paper machine began producing paper in November 2009. The machine itself trims at 2.8 m and will run at up to 1800 m/min, according to PMT, as reported in Tissue World’s e-newsletter of 18 February.

The main product coming out of the mill is two and three-ply toilet tissue, with almost all of it marketed under the SCA’s big Zewa brand. Zewa is the leading tissue brand in Russia according to SCA. Per capita consumption in Russia for consumer tissue, excluding AFH, is around 2 kg per year, compared with 10-12 kg for Western Europe. However, the annual growth rate for consumer tissue is estimated to be around 9%.

Plans already are underway to start considering more tissue machines for the site in the future, with SCA indicating that a larger 60,000 ton per year tissue PM would be the most likely next step. SCA said that it searched for long a time to identify a site that had the right combination of proximity to the giant Moscow population, supporting infrastructure such as energy, water and roads, as well as space for future expansion, before settling on Sovetsk. It has one other tissue mill in Russia, at Svetogorsk about 150 km north of St Petersburg near the Finnish border.

7. New world speed record on SCA’s Neuss PM2 in Germany

SCA’s Neuss PM2 twin-wire-tissue machine achieved a 24-hour speed record with a speed of 2200 m/min on 4 February 2010, according to a press release from Albany International, which supplies the machine clothing for the machine.

Neuss PM2 was installed in 1972 and rebuilt several times in order to increase machine speed and improve paper quality. It has a working width of 5320 mm and produces – among other tissue products – the well-known brand Tempo.

The contributing solution came from the Albany press product line. A Dynatex II press fabric was on the machine during the record run. Not only did this fabric play its part in setting a new world record but also ran for an increased life on this machine with fewer sheet breaks and with improved machine efficiency. The new speed record was also “a result of continuous cooperation between the Neuss mill and Albany International,” according to Albany.

8. Tissue continues to grow against the trend – RISI (News from RISI)

By Esko Uutela

The global paper and board industry suffered horribly from the recent recession and practically all grades and segments recorded declines in global consumption, with graphic papers showing the poorest performance. But there was one exception: tissue, or should we say more precisely, household and sanitary papers.

The statistics for 2009 are not yet complete, but based on preliminary figures we can already assume that global tissue consumption continued to grow. Our current estimate is that tissue consumption grew worldwide by 1.0-1.5% last year, which is much below the long-term growth trend of almost 4% annually, but still makes a major distinction in comparison with most other paper and board grades.

The reason why the tissue sector did not react to the downturn as strongly as other grades is simple: tissue consumption is not directly depending on economic indicators or driving forces such as advertising revenues or industrial production. A major part of tissue use is habitual and tissue products belong on our list of daily necessities. Perhaps some awkward translations of Chinese tissue mill names into English describe the character of the tissue paper business pretty well, for example "Living Paper Mill", "Livelihood Paper Mill" or "Daily Necessities Paper Mill". So tissue should be considered as a consumer product rather than part of the industrial (paper) product sector.

Although it is difficult to imagine that the recession would have had a major effect on personal toilet tissue use patterns in the western world, there are some other tissue products and segments which bear consequences from the economic downturn. The Away-from-Home (AfH) tissue sector is much more sensitive than the consumer tissue sector: the deep recession curbed traveling, lodging, dining out and reduced the industrial and office workforce, with direct reflections in tissue consumption. Very simple: less traffic, less use.

The well-developed US AfH sector was particularly affected, showing a decline of 3.7% in 2009, but European AfH tissue demand was also down by 1.5-2%. By product group, napkins were hit hardest: at home paper napkins were dropped from the shopping list and may have been replaced by cloth napkins or household towels or just ignored; and in AfH applications additional savings were sought through over-the-counter dispensing at fast food restaurants, which further deepened the dive originating with the decreased number of outlet visitors.

China was once again the prime motor for driving the global tissue consumption to a new record level of more than 28 million tons. Tissue consumption was hardly influenced: our current estimate for China's tissue consumption growth in 2009 is 8.4%, but recent market reports from the country indicate that the last months of 2009 were strong and it is possible that our estimate is conservative rather than optimistic. For 2010 a full rebound is expected and Chinese tissue consumption will grow by about 9%, if not even more (Figure 1).

Besides China a few other regions also survived well through the recession. For example, in the Asia-Pacific region the largest market, South Korea, recorded a substantial growth of 5% in its tissue consumption. In Latin America, the Mexican market was surprisingly strong through the whole year and Brazil was also rapidly recovering toward the end of the year. Tissue consumption in the Middle East and Africa (North Africa in particular) did not see any major setback, but rather only a small decline in the growth rate from the previous year.

The outlook for 2010 remains cautiously positive. North America and Western Europe are expected to recover, although a full rebound will take time in the AfH sector in particular. Some rationalization measures by the buyers (such as the aforementioned over-the-counter napkin dispensing) may remain as the pattern, thus reducing the traditional market volume, and there are only few, if any, alternatives to win these lost quantities back to the tissue business.

The long-term outlook for the global tissue business is good. Globally, hygienic standards are increasing, and even though the H1N1 epidemic sounds anything but positive in the media, it indeed made a valuable contribution to the toweling sector through increased hand washing and drying, as well as helped otherwise stagnant hankies and facial tissue sales. The positive effect on tissue use is that once established, habits such as hand washing and drying after a public washroom visit tend to remain as the norm.

The future tissue business potential is huge. In 2008, the average per capita consumption of tissue was not more than 4.2 kg, while the record by North America was at a level of 24 kg. The growth potential in Asia with its population of close to 5 billion is enormous. China's tissue consumption growth provides an interesting example of how development could proceed in other countries such as India (which is only in the take-off phase), Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines and many others. In the USA, we expect only very marginal per capita consumption growth as suppliers make efforts to save fiber and add value by downsizing, lightweighting and rationalization measures through new dispensing systems in the AfH business rather than selling more volume (tonnage).

Some thoughts for the longer-term future of tissue: today with an average global tissue consumption of 4.2 kg per capita, we are at the level of 28 million tonnes of tissue consumption, some 7% of the global paper and board consumption. A small, but growing share! With our forecast of average global tissue consumption at 5.4 kg per capita in 2018, we will be at a level of about 40 million tonnes in the whole world. And to continue, a 10 kg per capita level in 2030 with an estimated global population of 8 billion would add up to 80 million tonnes of tissue consumption, more than 50 million tonnes from the current level, and this is fully possible. So the tissue industry must probably be seen as the most prosperous segment of the whole paper and board branch!

Esko Uutela works out of RISI's EU Consulting office close to Munich, Germany and can be contacted by phone at +49-8151-29193 or by e-mail at euutela@risi.com.

9. FINE strengthens UAE with executives from Saudi Arabia

FINE, the market leader in the Middle East's hygienic paper industry and part of the Nuqul Group, has strengthened its UAE operations with the arrival of two high-level officials from its operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The transfer of expertise is part of the company's ongoing expansion efforts in the UAE, which also includes the plan to add more warehousing facilities and the development of a wider reaching distribution model for 2010 (see article in Tissue World magazine March 2010).

Jihad Zeidan, Adviser to the Chief Area Officer and Chief Finance Controller, and Issa M. Kayyal, Area Business Planning & Development Manager for the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, have been brought in from KSA to streamline the decision-making process and achieve greater economies of scale in the company's UAE operations.

Peter Janho, Chief Area Officer for the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, said, "Making Mr Zeidan and Mr Kayyal part of our Dubai operations is part of the Nuqul Group's efforts to facilitate and improve decision making processes here in the UAE. The move also demonstrates our strategy of transferring expertise and skills from one branch to another to achieve best results from a management and operations point of view.

Prior to being named Chief Finance Controller, Zeidan served as Consultant to the Chief Area Officer for the Arabian Peninsula and Iran while concurrently serving as General Manager for FINE KSA. A position held since 1976. He built and established two factories in Riyadh and one in Jeddah. Under his management the KSA operation thrived excellently and substantially to the Group's fundamental strength and growth. While he was in Saudi Arabia, Zeidan supervised the establishment of two factories of the group-one in Yemen and one in Sudan.

Issa Kayyal has held several senior managerial roles at Nuqul Group head Office in Jordan since 1991 the year he started with the group. He was the Group Director of studies and research before his appointment as deputy General Manager then Operations director for FINE KSA, His current post at Area level came to crown his experience and contribution to the Group. In Addition, he holds the general manager post for the newly acquired Middle East paper Products Company in Kuwait.

10. Sanita appoints new Africa General Manager

As of 1 March 2010, Mohamad Wadi has been named Africa General Manager for Sanita, a leading consumer disposables manufacturer in Halat, Lebanon.

Mohamad joined Napco Group in June 1998. In July 2002, he was promoted to Napco Consumer Products Company General Manager in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. In 2007, he moved to National Paper Company Ltd in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In his assignement, Mohamad will be in charge of implementing a new milestone for Sanita's expansion in Africa. He will lead the development of Napco Consumer Products Division activities throughout a three-year growth strategy.

11. Glow-in-the-Dark Toilet Roll available on line in the UK

I Want One of Those, a web site specialising in sale of gadgets, has started to market The Glow-in-the-Dark Toilet Roll. In daylight, this looks like any other toilet roll but at night phosphorus in the paper makes it glow.

What’s the point? Well, it could be useful for campers or others who do not have all-night lighting; or simply for those who do not want to turn on the light and disturb a sleeping partner.

It comes at a cost. A roll of Glow-in-the-Dark toilet paper costs £4.99 from I Want One of Those, roughly 10 times the price of a normal roll.

The roll was invented by South Bank University student Daniel Blackman, who now works in product development for the gift and gadget distributor Thumbs Up! Like all glow-in-the-dark products the glowing loo roll contains phosphors; a phosphor being the substance that exhibits a sustained glow after exposure to energized particles.

According to the I Want One of Those web site (www.iwantoneofthose.com), the paper “needs light to charge itself up, so to speak, and the amount of light it gets will determine how long it glows for. Why we're bothering to get technical about it is a mystery, it's Glow In The Dark Loo Roll for heaven's sake. As serious as a giraffe in flippers, though considerably more useful, and isn't it reassuring to know that all those research grants aren't going unwasted?”

12. Masafi Kids Boutique Tissues Now In A Brand New Design

Masafi, one of the leading FMCG brands in the Middle East and the leading tissues brand, has announced the launch of a revamped non-perfumed kids’ boutique tissue line in a visually-appealing design. In the new design, all Masafi cartoon characters – Toto, Nosy, Jami, Octo, Flip and Hoofy – aim to excite and entertain the kids, dramatizing intelligence theories in illustrative imagery for the children. The new Masafi tissues’ design depicts various hypotheses of intelligence – from bodily-kinesthetic, inter-personal to musical and verbal-linguistic, among others.

In the first phase of the launch, two specific designs will be unveiled. The first design coming in a bright red box pictures the Masafi character Jami as visual-spatial depicting the careers best suited for children excelling in mathematics and engineering. The second design, coming in a green box, illustrates Masafi Nosy as a professor and explorer, targeting those children who love nature and /or display verbal-linguistic abilities.

In his comments, Makram Haidar, Brand Manager of Masafi Tissues, said: “We are confident that the new upgrade on our kids’ tissue range and steady product additions will provide a further impetus to our market leadership in tissues. The Masafi Kids Tissues are made from 100% virgin pulp to achieve a very low grammage, which makes them extremely soft-yet-strong and wet resistant, with high absorbent properties.”

13. Goldenrod names two new sales representatives

Goldenrod Corporation has announced the appointment of two new sales representative firms, one each for the Pacific North-West and for Mexico.

TruGrit Agency of Portland, OR, USA, will represent the company in the Pacific Northwest (states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and the province of British Columbia, Canada). TruGrit is owned and operated by Wayne McGee, who is based in Portland and assisted in sales efforts by Mike Judy, based in Bow, Washington. Both men have over 15 years of industrial sales experience.

Flexi-vel SA de CV will represent Goldenrod throughout Mexico. Based near Mexico City, Flexi-vel is owned and operated by Jose Velasco and family. The agency has a seven-person sales force covering all of Mexico. The company has over 25 years of experience in the paper, film & foil converting industry.