POLAND
PMP to provide headbox for Hanke

On 23rd January, 2009, PMPoland signed a contract with Hanke Tissue for a new Intelli-Jet V™ hydarulic headbox. The scope of supply covers a new hydraulic headbox, a new fan pump, complete stock approach piping and design services for a stock preparation rebuild. The stock preparation rebuild will split the existing single stock line into two separate lines for NBKP and LBKP fibres and will include the installation of a new line for broke treatment.

Hanke Tissue is a producer of high quality printed napkins, uni-colour napkins and toilet, kitchen towels, handkerchiefs and tissue. Tissue and napkins are manufactured in 30 different colours. All products are sold under the brand aha... and a new exclusive brand Silver Square. Hanke Tissue sells its products on the European market.

PMPoland will supply a single-layer Intelli Jet V™ headbox to be installed on the existing fourdrinier machine, PM1, with a pondside width of 3500 mm and a design speed of 800 m/min. The main goal of the project is quality improvements with both basis weight and formation. The new headbox will also be designed to allow for future machine capacity increases. The equipment supply and startup are scheduled to be completed in August of 2009.

SWEDEN
NTT causes pre-study boom at Metso

Tissue makers from all over the world signed up for trial runs at the Tissue Technology Center in Karlstad following the launch of NTT at Metso’s Tissue Making Conference in September last year, the company reports. The trials have focused mainly on product qualities such as bulk and softness and also on energy consumption, to be compared to conventional technology as well as TAD. Tissue producers have brought their own raw material to the trials and made pilot jumbo rolls, complete with product and production data to be analyzed at home. Several customers have also made extensive market surveys with converted products from the pilot material. The NTT trials normally last 3-4 days at the full scale pilot machine now completely adapted to the Advantage NTT concept.

RUSSIA
MetsÄ Tissue continues expansion in Russia

The positive development of the Russian economy, a modern retail trade and the demand for higher standards of comfort have encouraged Metsä Tissue to expand the company's business from exports to local production. "The start-up of local converting operations near Moscow is an important strategic step for Metsä Tissue - we also aim to develop our brands and business further in Russia," comments Hannu Kottonen, CEO.

The inaugurated converting plant consists presently of two production lines. The first line, dedicated for the Awayfrom- Home products, was started in May 2008 and was quickly followed by the installation of the second line for the company's consumer products. The first consumer products were converted on the new line in August.

Thanks to local converting in Russia, today Metsä Tissue manufactures most of its products locally under the brands Lambi, Mola and Katrin. The brands stand as a guarantee for high quality and reliability - something the Russian consumers are already familiar with. In practice, local converting also means enhanced product availability, shorter transport distances and thus a smaller environmental footprint.

Metsä Tissue's export business to Russia began at the beginning of the 1990s and in 2006 Metsä Tissue LLC was Metsä Tissue LLC consists of a sales office in Moscow as well as warehousing, distribution and converting operations in Naro-Fominsk, 70 km from Moscow. The company employs about 70 people and aims to increase the number of employees in the near future.

Both the Lambi and Mola brands are aimed towards consumer sectors with a product family including bathroom tissues, household towels, tissue handkerchiefs and facial tissues. Lambi is the market leader in the premium segment in the Nordic countries and has a strong market position in Russia. Mola represents good quality for mainstream consumer segments offering a wide product family for every household.

Katrin, the well-known Away-from- Home brand, meets specific hygiene, health and comfort demands from professional hygiene requirements in the health care, industrial, food service and office sectors to public washrooms.

Through its dispensing systems, compatible tissue papers and hand towels, air fresheners and waste bins, Katrin can meet any Away-from-Home need. The brand has a unique "Less is More" concept for saving work, costs and, of course, the environment.

PM 36 in Mariestad rebuilt and running Metsä Tissue's investment in PM 36 at Mariestad mill in Sweden has been realized by finalizing the three week long rebuilding project. The project included two main areas - the rebuild of the former and stock preparation as well as the total rebuild of the machine's electrical infrastructure.

"One of the main targets of the investment was to improve product quality and now, as the production has started on the modernized machine, it is clear that the target has been reached. The other reached targets of the investment were to increase the production capacity as well as to reduce energy consumption" comments Lars Warvne, SVP Technology and Operations.

All and all the investments into modernization of the paper machine have resulted not only in the form of improved product quality and reduced costs but also as a step towards more sustainable way to operate.

SCA Personal Care breaks new ground in Russia

Construction of a brand new Personal Care factory in the Russian town of Veniov has begun with a groundbreaking ceremony held at the greenfield site in late November.

The Veniov factory will be SCA's first Personal Care production plant in Russia, but already SCA's third hygiene manufacturing facility in the country. The other two hygiene plants are tissue mills located in the neighbouring Russian town of Sovetsk (where the first construction phase of a brand new tissue mill was recently completed) and in Svetogorsk.

"Our goal is to leverage the growing ability of Russian consumers to purchase and use personal hygiene and health care products," explained Annika Nordin, VP Product Supply Personal Care Europe, at the event.

She continued: "Russia is currently behind Western Europe and America in terms of consumption of such products, but market demand is rising quickly, which is why local production in this market segment has high potential for the business."

The groundbreaking ceremony kicked off with SCA Personal Care Veniov plant manager Andrey Kudryashov revealing an architectural model of the future Veniov factory and describing the setup of the new manufacturing site to government representatives from Russia's Tula Region and Veniov District.

Several special guests - including the Governor of the Tula Region, Vyacheslav D. Dudka - were then invited to affix a commemorative plaque onto a granite stone erected at the construction site. Following the traditional Russian custom, a priest was also present to bless the construction site.

"SCA's sales of hygiene products in Russia have increased tremendously over the past years, and there is a lot of growth potential for both our personal care brands TENA, Libero and Libresse, as well as our tissue brands Tork and Zewa. Establishing a strong production base in Russia will further strengthen our market position by helping us to build an efficient and competitive business," concluded Nordin.

The SCA Personal Care Veniov factory will produce baby diapers and incontinence care products, and the first phase of construction is expected to be completed by the turn of the year 2009- 10.

Converting plant starts up
SCA has also started up a converting line at its plant in Sovetsk in the Tula region, where it is building a new 30,000 ton/yr tissue mill. The Fabio Perini unit will make kitchen towels, toilet paper and tissues under the Zewa brand.

"The opening of the tissue converting operation of the SCA Sovetsk factory signifies our commitment to investing in key growth areas such as Russia," Mats Berencreutz, president of SCA Tissue Europe, said in a statement.

The project is part of a €90 million investment including the new machine from PMT, which trims at 2.8 m wide and will run at 1800 m/min when it starts up in the next quarter. A second converting line is also due within a few months.


UKRAINE
Dnepropetrovsk starts used tissue PM5

Dnepropetrovsk Paper Mill has started commercial production on a second-hand tissue machine at its plant in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. The 24,000 ton/yr unit, PM 5, is expected to reach its design capacity by March 2009.

The firm was also mulling over ordering a tissue converting line from the Italian supplier Fabio Perini. A spokesperson said this would depend on the firm's financial results. He was unable to say when the firm would acquire the unit. "We have not dropped our plans [to install a converting line]. But we have to wait and see how the financial crisis will impact our business," he added. The plant houses two other machines, PM 1 and PM 2, which make a total of 30,000 tons/yr of paper and board. News from RISI (www.risiinfo.com)

ITALY
Lucart Group born with name change

The Group of companies headed by Cartiera Lucchese has been renamed Lucart Group. The name change is in recognition of the fact that the Lucart name is widely known in the industry by the group's customers, suppliers and institutions.

The Group has grown strongly in recent years and now represents "a significant reality on a European level" with operations in Italy and France and more than 1000 employees making 280,000 tons/yr of paper and expected to generate sales of more than €350 million in 2009.

"To make the most of these capabilities and potential we have decided to revise the communication strategy adopted to promote the Group image. Today the Lucart logo marks most of our products in different markets where we operate and furthermore has become part of the name of some companies in the Group," according to the company.

"Therefore, taking into consideration that the logo Lucart has allowed us to capitalize the fame gained in the last 20 years of our history and is undoubtedly more simple and easy to remember, both in Italy and abroad, the first step of the new communication strategy of our Group image is to replace the definition Cartiera Lucchese Group with Lucart Group.

"Together with the change in name, we have also slightly modified the graphics of the Lucart logo, to make it more modern and institutional but still maintaining a high level of continuity with the past. We will, in the next months, update the contents and unify the lay-out of all the institutional communication tools of all the Group companies. At the same we will progressively substitute the present logo with the new one on all the packs of our products and on any other means of communication.

"Another important intervention area will be the updating of our present web site www.lucart.it and the contemporary launching of the website www.lucartgroup.com.

"Obviously the objective of these actions and all other ones that will be carried out in the future, is to make the Lucart Group name more well-known and give it more value."

GERMANY
Voith Paper optimizes Kriebstein TM9 for WEPA

Following modifications of TM9 at WEPA's Kriebstein mill, the company has announced improvements in edge cut and processability of the sheet from the 2000 m/min machine as well as drastic reductions in energy consumption.

In spring 2008 WEPA Sachsen in Kriebethal, Germany, awarded an order to Voith Paper for the optimization of tissue machine No 9 in Kriebstein. The order covers a Vplus MasterCut system in combination with the innovative EcoChange T web turnup system. In addition, Voith insulated the heads of the yankee dryer.

The edge quality of the paper web as well as its processability have been significantly improved by the Vplus MasterCut System. The system consists of one centre and two edge cuts, which are carried out by means of water-jet high-pressure technology. The edge slitting units allow tissue paper to be produced in the basis weight range 14-24 g/m2 with a width variability of 5000-5400 mm. Here, speeds of up to 2000 m/min are possible. The centre slitting unit ensures that a dust-free cut is generated in finishing quality as early as on the tissue machine.

With the EcoChange T parent roll turn-up system, the successful EcoChange Series has now also been launched on the tissue market. Through water-jet high-pressure technology the parent roll is changed with maximum reliability within seconds and the broke resulting from the turn-up is minimized. This has significantly improved the productivity of TM9.

Energy losses through the heads can be drastically reduced by the head insulation of the Yankee dryer. In view of the rising costs of energy, this investment makes good economic sense, as it will have paid for itself in less than a year.

The rebuilt tissue machine was successfully been started up at the end of November 2008. These optimizations on TM9 have helped WEPA Sachsen to save energy and to significantly increase production.

PORTUGAL
Renova Black: now on vending machines!

It is not at all common to see a vending machine selling toilet paper. Now Renova has just launched one selling black tissue. It is inside a WC lounge on the biggest IKEA shopping mall in Iberia, at Oporto. The products available concern solely Renova Black Label range of products, comprising a wide variety of strongly colored products and gifts. For more information: www.renovaonline.net/news

BULGARIA
Kostenez delays PM startup

The Ukraine-Russia pipeline dispute has thrown Kostenez-HHI's plans to start up its new Over Meccanica tissue machine at its mill in Kostenez, Bulgaria into disarray.

A spokeswoman explained that the 25,000 ton/yr unit, PM3, was slated to start paper production in March. However, a combination of remarkably cold weather and the interruption to the country's gas supply dissuaded the company from beginning water runs this month as planned, for fear of damaging the machine.

A revised timeline will be devised when the gas supply situation is less opaque, she said. In the meantime, Kostenez is considering using liquefied petroleum gas from mobile units to power its machines if the uncertainty continues.

The new 2.8 m wide crescent former unit, which is replacing a PM that went offline at the site in 1992, will have a design speed of 1800 m/min and will be able to produce 1-3-ply virgin fibre tissue in a basis weight range of 13-34 g/m2. The €11 million project was originally scheduled to wrap up in the first quarter of 2007. Local gas supply issues delayed its completion, and Kostenez opted to bring a new gas pipeline on stream in 2008 to rectify the problem.

During the gas supply shutdown, Bulgaria is drawing on its national reserves to heat private homes; industry is not being supplied. According to local sources, the reserves available will only last until later this month at their current rate of usage. News from RISI(www.risiinfo.com)

UKRAINE
Dnepropetrovsk changes ownership on failure

The business court of the Dnepropetrovsk region has liquidated the open joint stock company Dnepropetrovsk Paper Mill in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, following bankruptcy proceedings initiated in September.

As a result, the state-owned Ukrbumprom has lost its 30% share in the plant, while the Dnepropetrovsk private firm ComputerLand, which held a 59.86% stake before the firm's liquidation, has become the sole owner of the mill through the newly-established private company Dnepropetrovsk Paper Mill Ltd.

"The mill has become a private company. It is operating as normal and the management has not changed," a spokesperson commented. "The plant needed large investments. However, the majority owner, ComputerLand, was not ready to invest money without having full control of the plant. Ukrbumprom owned 30% of the mill's shares but was not contributing to the development of the plant in any way," he added.

In 2005, ComputerLand attempted to raise the plant's statutory fund in order to increase its stake, but was opposed by Ukrbumprom who reportedly did not want to lose its blocking share.

Dnepropetrovsk Paper Mill recently brought online a 24,000 ton/yr tissue machine. The plant houses two other machines, with capacity of 30,000 tons/yr of paper and board.

SPAIN
LC Paper starts up new tissue PM

LC Paper has started up a new 50,000 ton/yr tissue machine, PM 3, at its mill in Gerona, Spain. The 2.8 m unit, supplied by POM and Milltech, came online mid- January.

PM 3's output will be used to improve LC Paper's range of hygiene and healthcare products for the away-fromhome market. The Gerona mill has two other machines, which can produce 40,000 tons/yr of tissue.

News from RISI(www.risiinfo.com)

FINLAND
Metso expands in Asia but times are tough

Metso celebrated the inauguration of its new service centre in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, on 8 January, and has started a new company in Vietnam. . But it has also announced layoffs in Sweden and Finland. The greenfield service centre in Guangzhou has been operational since November 2008. It provides advanced services to the pulp and paper industry in Southern China.

Metso's Guangzhou Service Centre has a fully-equipped roll service workshop capable of supplying rolls, roll covers and mechanical roll maintenance services for all makes and sizes of pulp and paper machinery. The centre also offers a comprehensive range of spare parts and mill site services.

Strengthening local service operations is a vital part of Metso's continuing commitment and support to the Chinese pulp and paper industry, the company says. In line with this commitment, Metso has steadily been increasing its local presence in China.

It opened its first Service Centre in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province in 2001. The Wuxi Service Centre recently doubled its roll service capacity by opening an extension in October 2007. A third service centre for the Chinese pulp and paper industry is currently being built in Zibo, Shandong province. The stone laying for the new Zibo center was celebrated in November 2008.

The company has also set up a new company, Metso Vietnam Co Ltd, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The office will serve all businesses of Metso.

Lay-offs workers in Sweden and Finland

Metso is to start personnel negotiations regarding the reduction of 45 persons at Metso Paper Karlstad AB in Karlstad, Sweden. The company's operations are part of Metso's Tissue business line and Paper business line.

The reduction is part of the capacity adjustments and relocating of operations initiated within Metso's Paper and Fibre Technology segment. The primary reason of the rearrangements is the weakening of the global market situation. Operations need to be downsized and made more flexible to handle changes in the market.

The reductions will affect both blue and white collar employees and will become effective by the end of 2009. The one-time costs related to these arrangements are not expected to be material for Metso.

Metso Paper Karlstad AB currently employs close to 500 people in Karlstad. The unit supplies technology and services for the global tissue making industry and for the Scandinavian paper and board industry. Altogether Metso employs more than 3,100 people in Sweden.

Much larger layoffs have also been announced for other Metso plants in Finland unrelated to the tissue sector. News from RISI(www.risiinfo.com)

Clarification In the December-January issue of Tissue World magazine, we failed to give full details on the authors of the article "Energy systems for tissue". This was written by Ulf Strenger and Pirkko Petäjä. Strenger is expert focusing on energy technology and Petäjä heads consulting services for tissue and hygiene industry within Pöyry. Contact details: Ulf Strenger, Senior Consultant Process Technology, Pöyry Sweden AB, Storgatan 44, 11455 Stockholm, Sweden. Phone +46 70 6220146. Email ulf.strenger@poyry.com. Pirkko Petäjä, Associate Principal, Pöyry Forest Industry Consulting Oy, PO Box 4, FI-01621 Vantaa, Finland. Phone +358 10 33 22329. Mobile +358 50 412 4226. Email pirkko.petaja@poyry.com.