Exploring the future at Tissue Making Days 2014

Valmet and its co-hosts, Metso and Flootech, drew a visionary picture of the tissue industry for the 140 participants that attended the 16th Tissue Conference in Karlstad, Sweden. Representatives from 30 countries and nearly 60 companies listened to the latest news in technology, research and development. And they were all challenged to reflect on what the future might bring.

“It has been a great conference with many opportunities to network” said a tissue customer and conference participant who had travelled all the way from Canada to explore the business of tomorrow.

Preparing for the future today

Kjell Nordström, well-known speaker, author and professor of economics, shared his inspiring thoughts on how globalization, urbanization and the accelerating technology evolution is changing our lives. The world is being taken over by women and will run by 600 cities, predicts Kjell.

Kjell A. Nordström's visions inspired

“We need to start thinking outside the box” said Valmet’s sales manager Björn Magnus and Ulf Johnsson, head of Mill Technology, in their presentation about the ultramodern mill. They see factories becoming more integrated in the community infrastructure and the citizens’ everyday life. And the mill of tomorrow will not only be sustainable from an environmental point of view, but also at a social and economic level.

Other speakers also saw sustainability as the key to the future. And to be sure we have the key in hand we need to act today, because the future is already taking shape. One way to go is to invest in modern technology solutions. Valmet and its clients Sofidel, Papel San Francisco and Aktül Kagit showed the audience how the latest energy recovery system AdvantageTM ReTurneTM, the latest pressing solution AdvantageTM ViscoNip® and the tissue concept AdvantageTM NTT®, can help the industry face both present and future challenges. Seyhan Nuyan from Metso had the same approach as he illuminated the benefits of modern tissue automation concepts.

“We are already prepared for future challenges” said Dario Espinoza Palma y Meza from Papel San Francisco, as he described how the Advantage NTT tissue line have given the mill in Mexicali a boost in both production and energy savings, without compromising quality.

Towards the future with Valmet, day and night

Other conference topics were market development, consumer behaviors, water management, remote support and future demands on fiber. Sales manager Kent Nika added a twist to Valmet’s tissue simulation offer when he claimed that it can actually improve your night sleep:

“Simulation lets your staff practice on difficult situations in a virtual environment. They will be prepared in case problems occur in real life production. Or as one of our customers said: it helps you sleep better at night.”

The conference also included a guided tour at Valmet’s site in Karlstad. The visitors got to see how tissue paper machines are produced, from the first idea to a finished product fit for the future.

Comparing paper qualities at Valmet's Tissue Technology Center