Körber Business Area Tissue: double-digit growth, continued market leadership in Europe and North America and development of its core business in China, Latin America, and Africa

Its evolved ecosystem approach leaves Körber Business Area Tissue with a growth of 10% in 2021, a turnover in constant growth and important developments in markets such as China, Latin America, and Africa.  While Körber Business Area Tissue’s traditional business continues going strong, this progress is also driven by its evolvement from a supplier of high-level machinery to a strategic partner able to offer broad solutions within an ecosystem of integrated systems ranging from converting to logistics, digital solutions to value added services.

These are landmark results in a sector that has developed in different ways during the pandemic: on the one hand costs of raw materials and energy increased; on the other hand, new opportunities arose within the fields of e-commerce and of eco-sustainable products.

Oswaldo Cruz Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the Körber Business Area Tissue, comments:

“Our customers are under tremendous pressure. There is certainly a great demand for tissue products, but due to the increase in costs, their margins decreased. It is therefore important to actively support them in terms of speed and technologically advanced solutions and services, but more importantly through an integrated approach to help them to reduce costs ".

Therefore, to respond to developments and stay at the forefront of shaping our customers’ success, the Körber Business Area Tissue is evolving more and more from a machinery supplier to a strategic partner that provides broader solutions. This includes for example combining skills in converting and packaging with those of other Business Areas within the Körber ecosystem, such as the Business Area Supply Chain’s cutting-edge logistics, or the Business Area Digital’s cloud-based technology and advanced AI-driven software.

This approach is complemented by the characteristics that have made Körber the only truly integrated and global supplier in recent years with an exclusive product portfolio on the market and a global presence.

Mauro Luna, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of the Körber Business Area Tissue continues:

“Think globally, act locally- is our great strength in addition to our large portfolio that allows us to serve different requirements. In China for example, practical and solid products without a core are preferred, so we offer technologies such as Solid + that enable our customers to manufacture such products. In the United States soft and voluminous products are preferred, so we offer Perini Constellation, which makes uniform and soft rolls at very high speeds. Our broad range of product is supplemented by an on-the-ground presence throughout the world: in addition to the Tuscan headquarters with the plants in Lucca, Bologna and Porcari, there are production facilities in the United States, Brazil, China, and offices in Japan with a total of over 1.200 people employed. This enables us to operate a considerable sales force and number of technicians worldwide who can respond to customer inquiries quickly and promptly”.

This global setup is also vital for product development. In China for example, alternative fibers to cellulose such as bamboo or wheat have already been used for some time.
We adapt and offer the expertise gained from working with these alternative fibers easily for other markets.  

Another key element that in 2021 enabled Körber Business Area Tissue to support clients in overcoming their challenges and achieving their Overall Equipment Effectiveness objectives was certainly innovation, which is never an end in itself, but always aims to increase production efficiency or support customers in the development of new business, such as e-commerce.

Luca Frasnetti, Chief Technology Officer of the Körber Business Area Tissue concludes:

"This year there are three key innovations that we have presented and that will mark our development for the next few years. Warm-up Contactless, a breakthrough innovation that uses induction for embossing; Casmatic Zephyrus that allows our customers to develop and increase business related to e-commerce in a simple, fast and personalized way; and SAMs, real-time production supervisors which identify any possible deviation from what has been established and take appropriate decisions within the previously established limits, regardless of an operator's skill level"