UPM and ANDRITZ partner to advance tissue innovation

UPM Pulp and international technology group ANDRITZ have signed a multi-year strategic cooperation agreement aimed at accelerating the development of next-generation tissue products and manufacturing processes.

Representatives of ANDRITZ and UPM met in Graz, Austria, to discuss current developments and future trends in the tissue industry.

The collaboration gives tissue manufacturers access to pilot-scale development at ANDRITZ's PrimeLine Tissue Innovation and Application Center (PrimeLineTIAC) in Graz, Austria. The facility enables customers to optimize fibre and process solutions for their own production, shorten product development cycles, improve product performance and increase efficiency in tissue manufacturing and raw material use.

“Innovation in tissue is rarely about one element alone. By combining our fibre expertise with ANDRITZ’s deep process technology know-how, we provide our customers with unique technical capabilities and world-class facilities for product development,” says Tomas Wiklund, Senior Vice President, Pulp Sales at UPM Fibres.

Pilot-scale testing reduces development risks

According to ANDRITZ, introducing new raw materials or process concepts into commercial tissue production involves significant risks, as trials on production machines are both costly and disruptive.

“Our tissue pilot plant provides a dedicated environment for continuous process development while helping customers reduce investment risks. Together with UPM’s pulp expertise, we can help tissue manufacturers innovate more efficiently and bring new solutions to market faster,” says Franz Harrer, Director Global R&D and Pilot Operations, Paper & Tissue at ANDRITZ.

Partnership spans the entire value chain

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.

Under the agreement, UPM’s hardwood pulp, UPM Euca, will serve as the standard pulp in all customer and internal trials at PrimeLineTIAC. Tissue manufacturers will be able to participate in joint pilot trials with UPM’s technical specialists and ANDRITZ’s process experts to develop and optimize next-generation tissue products and processes.

The pilot facility supports dry-crepe, textured and Through-Air-Drying (TAD) tissue manufacturing technologies.