HELSINKI (News release) -- The world's leading multifibre pulp producer UPM Pulp and the international technology group ANDRITZ have signed a strategic, multi-year cooperation agreement to enable tissue manufacturers to develop and optimize next-generation tissue products and processes. With dedicated access to pilot-scale development at ANDRITZ's PrimeLineTIAC Tissue Innovation and Application Center in Graz, Austria, tissue manufacturers can optimize fibre and process solutions tailored to their production setup. They can also develop and commercialize innovative products faster for enhanced performance and improve efficiency across tissue production and raw materials.
"Innovation in tissue is rarely about one element alone. By bringing our fibre expertise and ANDRITZ's deep knowledge in process technology together in a shared development environment, we provide our customers with access to unique technical capabilities and world-class facilities for innovation," says Tomas Wiklund, Senior Vice President, Pulp Sales, UPM Fibres.
"Bringing a new raw material or process concept to tissue production carries real risk. Trialing on a live production machine is costly and disruptive. This is where our tissue pilot plant comes to play. It supports continuous process innovation and de-risking of investments. Together with UPM's pulp expertise, we can help tissue manufacturers innovate efficiently and faster," says Franz Harrer, Director Global R&D and Pilot Operations, Paper & Tissue, ANDRITZ.
ANDRITZ hosted UPM in Graz for discussions on current and future tissue topics.
The partnership combines ANDRITZ's expertise in process and equipment engineering with UPM's leadership in pulp and fibre technology to drive innovation across the value chain, from raw materials to production processes. As part of the agreement, UPM hardwood pulp, UPM Euca, will serve as the standard pulp across all customer and internal trials at PrimeLineTIAC. Tissue producers can participate directly in joint trials, working with both UPM's technical team and ANDRITZ's process experts to develop and optimize next-generation tissue products and processes. The tissue facility supports dry-crepe, textured and structured (Through-Air-Drying) tissue manufacturing technologies.
