Tissue as soft as silk

Forestal y Papelera Concepcion in Chile had been in the paper business for more than 20 years when they decided to expand into the tissue business. It turned out to be something totally different for them. They entered an exciting world where technology, and how you foster it, plays a significant role in the characteristics of the tissue paper. Their dream was to produce tissue soft as silk, achieving a tissue softness threshold of 100 TSA, the holy grail in the tissue business and normally only accessible with TAD technology.

The company’s strategy was initially to only focus on producing jumbo rolls for export. But they soon decided to build a converting facility and develop their own brand. The idea was never to compete with their customers but to assist them better. The converting line allowed them to fully understand how to treat the paper and utilize its properties in the very best way – knowledge that they are now passing on to their customers.

It’s not just paper – It’s NTT paper

“You can’t treat textured NTT paper like plain paper or tough paper – it’s NTT paper. You must take care of the characteristics created in the tissue machine. We found that micro-embossing destroys the paper. Now we know how to make the paper flourish in converting and take full advantage of the bulk and softness” says Izquierdo.

The Advantage NTT machine is designed to swing between producing plan and textured tissue. The secret is the belt. FPC use plain belt for production of plain toilet and kitchen towel, Fine for super-soft toilet paper and medium or coarse belt for textured, bulky kitchen towel and super strong towel for the away-from-home market.

The dream came through faster than expected

The FPC team has worked hard to tweak the machine and fine-tune all parameters to produce the softest paper with the best hand feel. And the work has paid off.

“My dream was to be able to produce tissue paper with a softness of 100 TSA at some point. But I had never imagined we could do it after only six months. That’s really incredible” says Izquierdo happily.

“We are delighted with the capability of the NTT machine, and it makes me excited to know that we are just scratching the surface of what this technology can do. We will continue to work with the Valmet team and other suppliers to find out how to optimize the technology in order to benefit from the great pulp we have in Chile, how we refine it, what blends we use and how we set the parameters to maintain a stable production of top notch product for our customers” explains Izquierdo.

Raising standards

Today the demand for products from Forestal y Papelera Concepcion is increasing and its production is split: 20 percent converted products for the Chilean market, and 80 percent jumbo rolls for export to Europe, the USA and South America. The Swan and Mi Hogar brands are appreciated by Chilean women – the target group in the consumer market. It’s the women who goes to the supermarket and make the final decision, and they seem to like it.

“NTT has really raised the standard in the Chilean market. Consumers are demanding higher quality so from now on premium paper in Chile has to be textured” confirms Izquierdo.