Mauro Luna, Global Sales Director, Körber Tissue
The year 2020 was a good year for Körber, despite the global situation. There was a worldwide increase in demand for tissue products that we were ready for. In a short period of time, we decided to make available a selection of standard machines and lines for converting and packaging. We made lines without order and without the customer, but they could be delivered quickly. This allowed us to meet the demands of our customers who were suddenly faced with increased demand for tissue products. Only very few companies in the world can make such an investment.
We invested in innovation during the first lockdown and developed a technological update that would allow the production of up to 10,000 masks (in rolls) per minute, and the use of a bamboo-based non-woven fabric that is biodegradable and can be disposed of with other compostable waste.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19, we forecast that paper products will increase, and that there will be more attention for sustainable products. The AfH sector – dependent on hotels, restaurants, airports – has undergone a major decrease in tissue products in all markets. We also suffered in this side, but it was compensated by consumer goods products.
The AfH market will come back, and we will be ready! There will probably be a change in legislation that will force us to have tissue products instead of air dryers in many areas of our lives, and we are ready for this increase in demand. Another request will be the products that must have lotion, so that they have a sanitising effect against the virus. Again, we are also ready for this.
