From desert ground to a functional tissue mill - Crown Paper Mill’s new site turns ambition into reality

Crown Paper Mill’s new PM4 tissue machine in Saudi Arabia is more than a capacity investment. It is a statement of intent — a move into one of the region’s most important tissue markets, a continuation of the company’s growth journey, and a new benchmark for what can be achieved when a tissue producer and technology supplier build on proven experience.

For Crown Paper Mill, Saudi Arabia was a natural next step after the successful PM3 installation in Abu Dhabi. The market offers strong demand, strategic proximity to customers and long-term growth potential. For Valmet, the project continued a relationship already shaped by hands-on cooperation, technical confidence and mutual trust.

The delivery reflected the scale of a complete modern tissue mill, covering not only the 5,6-meter-wide, top-speed Valmet Advantage DCT 200 tissue machine but also key process technology, automation and performance support services. The line was built to combine efficient production with premium paper properties and low energy consumption.

"Saudi Arabia is one of the most important markets in the Middle East. Being present in this market is very important for the group and for Crown Paper Mill.”

Mohammad Al Hourani,

Production Manager, Crown Paper Mill

Built on PM3 — tested by PM4

The connection to PM3 in Abu Dhabi was vital. That Advantage DCT project had given Crown Paper Mill experience of Valmet’s tissue technology, project execution, automation, training and start-up support. It had also created something equally important: a team relationship where people knew how to communicate, solve problems and rely on each other.

Compared with the project in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia brought a different set of challenges, including local rules and regulations, more complex logistics and geopolitical instability in the region. These factors added pressure to the team. Thanks to the strong relationship, open collaboration and shared ambitions from both Valmet and Crown Paper Mill teams, the challenges were overcome and the project could move forward with the same determination that had characterized PM3.

“We are already a very close partner to Valmet, and we know the methodology Valmet follows. With very high coordination, from management to the technical teams, we were able to accomplish the project.”

Khaled Alramahi,

Project Manager, Crown Paper Mill

Seeing a dream come true

For tissue producers and machine suppliers, PM4 is a case story in execution under pressure. What began as plans, offers and technical discussions became a modern tissue mill rising from an empty desert site. The start-up day brought the full journey into focus — the uncertainty, the problem-solving, the teamwork and finally the visible proof that the machine was running.

“When we came to visit the land for the first time, it was a full piece of desert,” says Alramahi. “But on the start-up day, it was a dream come true.”

The emotion was impossible to miss. People from Crown Paper Mill, Valmet and the wider supplier network all contributed to the result. Many had lived with the project for years. When the first reel came off the machine, the moment belonged to everyone. The start-up was a moment of pride, relief and genuine emotion — the moment when a vision drawn on paper became a living, running tissue line.

“I was speechless,” Alramahi says. “Seeing the happiness on the faces of the team and seeing the machine running — it was something I will never forget.”

A start-up driven by the customer’s own team

One of the strongest signals of success was that Crown Paper Mill’s own team played the leading role during start-up. Valmet’s specialists were there to support, but the machine was largely started by operators, engineers and foremen who had been prepared through training and experience from earlier projects.

“The start-up was mostly done by the Crown Paper Mill team, while Valmet people were standing behind them for support,” says Al Hourani. “It shows we had the proper people and the proper training before the start-up. This was something unique.”

That is also where the PM3 story becomes visible again. People who joined Crown Paper Mill as young operators in Abu Dhabi have developed into production engineers, machine foremen and winder foremen on PM4. The investment is therefore not only in machinery, but also in competence, continuity and future operational strength.

A partnership noticed by the market

The PM4 start-up also attracted attention beyond the project team. Visiting suppliers who had seen many tissue projects in the region, recognized the standard of execution and the repeated success after PM3. Crown Paper Mill is not only expanding; it is building capabilityand consistency at a high level.

“After the success of PM3 we thought it would be difficult to reach that level again,” says Alramahi. “But when at the start-up of PM4, we understood it was not by chance. It is a target reached with very hard work and very high cooperation.”

For Valmet, the project confirms the value of long-term customer relationships where technology, training and project execution are connected. For Crown Paper Mill, PM4 strengthens the company’s position in the Middle East and creates a platform for future growth — including the possibility of further expansion already being discussed.

When Alhourani looks back at the first reel, the strongest memory is not a production figure but the feeling of seeing something come alive. “It is like having a new baby,” he says. “You work on it for a long time, and then you see it alive. In that moment, you forget everything else and just express your happiness.”

From PM3 in Abu Dhabi to PM4 in Saudi Arabia, Crown Paper Mill and Valmet have created a story that speaks directly to the tissue industry: growth requires courage, technology must be matched by people, and the strongest partnerships are proven when ambitious plans become running machines.