Tissue World Magazine
Alexandra Stuthridge, Technical Business Manager, BioProducts Institute (BPI)

SCA has boosted its tissue capacity in the UK after construction at its Skelmersdale tissue site was completed.

Work started 18 months ago and included a new production hall as well as the installation of 10 additional lines, including two new lines supplied by Bretting and PCMC.

Over 140 jobs were created at the site, and the investment also included a new distribution centre in Ashton-in-Makerfield.

Skelmersdale is now SCA’s second largest tissue production site in Europe for the AfH market, producing Tork-label products for major customers including local authorities, the NHS, hotel chains and motorway services.

A converting mill, the Skelmersdale site takes in mother reels of paper made at other SCA mills in the UK and converts this into the finished products.

Its products also include Velvet tissues and own brand tissue products for leading supermarket chains.

The new lines in the investment included the Tork SmartOne line, a state-of-the-art single sheet dispensing system that reduces toilet tissue consumption and costs for professional customers by up to 40%.

Other new lines at the mill include Europe’s first single dispenser for paper napkins, an innovative system designed to save consumption and costs for customers such as fast food restaurants.

Site manager Mark Mannering said: “This major investment underlines SCA’s commitment to the long-term future of the Skelmersdale operation.”

The increased production at the mill will reduce imports from other European sites to the UK market and also give the mill a greater capacity for exporting its products overseas.