The Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) is to increase its production capacity after investing $92m in an Andritz-supplied tissue machine to be installed at its Juthor subsidiary in Saudi Arabia.
Start-up of PM6 at the Juthur Paper Manufacturing Co. site in the King Abdullah Economic City is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2026.
The line is designed for speeds of up to 2,100mpm and will double the KAEC mill’s capacity by 60,000tpy to a total of 120,000tpy.
Production will primarily serve domestic and export markets, focusing on jumbo rolls. It will not include converting equipment.
Ahmed Fazary, MEPCO’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Affairs, said the reason for the investment was the robust growth seen in Saudi Arabia’s tissue market – and a growing supply-demand gap.
He said: “Saudi Arabia has evolved into a quality-driven tissue market, with annual growth stabilising at 7% over the past decade.
“Looking ahead, we conservatively forecast growth of 3-4% annually.”
According to Fastmarkets, tissue consumption in Saudi Arabia reached 280,000 tonnes in 2022. Fazary added he estimates this figure has since increased to 300,000tpy.
With TM6 in operation, MEPCO expects to secure a 28-30% share of the domestic market.
The expansion follows the start-up of a tissue machine launched at the same facility in June 2023.
