Lucart Group has strengthened its presence in the tissue market after investing in an AHEAD-2.0S tissue machine.
Supplied by Toscotec, PM12 will be installed at the company’s Porcari, Italian-based mill and will produce high quality tissue paper starting from pure cellulose and recycled paper.
The scope of supply includes the new automatic rewinder equipped with three unwinding stations, the maximum operating speed is 2,000mpm, with technology aimed at preserving paper thickness during reel winding.
Installation will be finalised in the second quarter of 2018.
The forming section is designed for the future installation of a new system aimed to increase the dry content and thickness of the finished product.
The dry section includes the TT DOES solution with the shoe press TT NextPress, a TT SYD-16FT second-generation Steel Yankee dryer and high-efficiency hoods that guarantee high quality paper with the lowest possible energy consumption.
The line has an operating speed of 2,000mpm and the total production is approximately 35,000tpy.
Massimo Pasquini, Lucart chief executive, said: “This important investment allows us to strengthen our presence in the tissue market.
“We believe that the growth of the company in the market of paper for hygienic-sanitary use in Europe is strategic, and the new PM will foster the development of all the business units of our group.
“We are pleased to look at the world without forgetting our origins; for this reason, installing cutting-edge technology at our historical Porcari mill, in the province of Lucca, should be seen as a message of trust towards Italy as a whole.”
Lucart produces MG paper, tissue products and airlaid products, and was founded in 1953 by the Pasquini family.
Elsewhere, the company has also confirmed its acquisition of Spanish group CEL Technologies & System.
The acquisition was finalised on 31 January through a newly established company, Lucart Tissue & Soap S.L.U.
Lucart’s project for restarting the business includes an investment plan of more than €20m over the next five years.
With this operation, Lucart has acquired three production facilities in Spain, in the Basque Country near the city of Bilbao, designated for the production and conversion of tissue paper and the production of personal care soaps and detergents in the AfH industry.
The acquisition also includes a substantial de-inking plant.
The company has confirmed 146 jobs in the three plants acquired, with a business plan that envisages the following:
• Restarting two continuous machines at the Aranguren plant, for an overall capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year;
• Gradually restarting and implementing the converting activity in the Gunes plant;
• The development and strengthening of soap and detergent production activities in the Artziniega plant, which has never been discontinued.
Massimo Pasquini, Lucart chief executive, said: “This acquisition will allow us to continue to strengthen our presence in the tissue paper market, in line with the company’s strategic growth plan in European markets, serving all of our Group’s Business Units.”
