By Jonathan Roberts
If you are reading this, you could well be just about
to attend Tissue World in Nice, you might actually be
there, or you have recently returned.
Of course not everybody in this business goes to this
the “original” Tissue World, but it certainly
has a feeling of being a meeting of the global tissue
business.
Looking away-from-home
And with so many people away from their homes for this
event, what more appropriate subject could we address
from away-from-home, familiarly referred to as AfH?
Articles in this issue which consider various angles
of the AfH business include Susan Stansbury’s contribution
on page 43, which shows how AfH converters in the USA
seem to be having quite a good time at the moment. Stansbury
reminds us of the high standards which AfH suppliers
have to maintain, in terms of recycling and other factors
which might affect the user, but it seems that those
willing to innovate an add value to their products stand
to benefit from enticing growth opportunities.
In Exit Issues on page 58, we look at a specific technical
aspect of tissue production, in this case the effect
of a specific control technology on the operation of
a napkin conversion line – and of course a large
proportion of napkins are destined for AfH use.
What emerges in any discussion of AfH is that one of
the biggest differences between this sector of the industry
and the consumer side is hat producers of the product
have little control over how their products are presented
to the user. Of course they cannot dictate people’s
bathroom décor or cleanliness at home, either,
but at least here the customer is in control of this.
In AfH situations, the customer, by which I mean in this
context the final user, rather than the purchaser, is
at the mercy of other customers, when is comes to their
experience of the AfH product they are using. They are
also highly reliant on the provider of the facility.
The perfect washroom
Metsä’s Marcus Reivala in Market Issues on
page 7, describes how the perfect washroom should appear
and how it should be maintained. He also cites some useful
research to explain just why the high standards he proposes
are worth maintaining. Basically, washroom facilities
say a great deal about the provider of those facilities,
such that it seems almost commercial madness not to implement
Reivala’s suggestions.
The trouble is that so many businesses see the provision
of AfH facilities as a burdensome necessity rather than
an opportunity. This is where some generic advertising
would serve a purpose. There would be great potential
benefits to the AfH industry if such a campaign would
highlight the upside for a business of a well maintained
facility which does that bit extra to please its users – maybe
by stocking a slightly better quality of product. There
are the drivers who will make sure they use one service
station rather than another, the restaurant goers who
favor one particular establishment, or the employees
who feel valued, and therefore feel inclined to give
a bit more themselves.
This is a generic message from which any brand would
gain a great deal, were it to take on the responsibility
of spreading the message.
Argentinean success story
Talking of making a difference, in this issue we travel
to a mill in Argentina where the application of a new
piece of technology in an existing line has made a considerable
difference to the plant’s efficiency and profitability.
Papelera San Andres de Giles has achieved great things
with judicious upgrades rather than a complete new line.
And this brings us to one of the reasons why people come
to Tissue World events. Out there among those exhibition
booths could well be the piece of technology, or at least
the company which supplies it, which could give your
tissue company its
San Andres de Giles moment.
Finally, as Tissue World Nice is a European event, it
seemed only appropriate to take some time to consider
the European market. There are lots of assumptions about
Europe, but Esko Uutela’s article helps pinpoint
where the growth is and gives us an overall view of where
the investment activity is taking place. Eastern and
southern markets seem to be the ones to watch, and it
will come as little surprise that the traditionally strong
markets are suffering from intense competition.TW
