Established in 1978, Gulf Paper Manufacturing was the first company to start manufacturing paper in the Gulf region in 1981. Owned by two families of Kuwaiti entrepreneurs, it operates three production lines at its Mina Abdullah paper mill in Kuwait: PM1 produces packaging grades, mainly Fluting medium, Test liner and white top liner, using 100% recycled paper; PM2 manufactures tissue from 100% virgin pulp; the third is a tissue converting line. Its current capacity is 70,000 tons, with 70% of its packaging grades being destined for export to GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and chiefly Saudi Arabia, and the domestic market accounting for approximately 30% of its business.
In December 2019, Toscotec completed a major rebuild of its PM1 dryer section. We asked Mr. Ghaleb Al Hadhrami, Gulf Paper Manufacturing Projects & Development Manager, to talk about what they achieved with this rebuild. Will you please tell us about yourself and your work at Gulf Paper Manufacturing? I graduated in Paper Technology Engineering in 1981. Two years later, I joined Gulf Paper Manufacturing as a production trainee. In the following years, I held several roles at Gulf Paper until I was promoted Production Manager in 1987. During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, I worked as Production Engineer for Fine Group in Al Bardy Mill, Egypt and then in Nigeria for Bel Papyrus, which operated a Toscotec tissue machine. Finally, in May 1993 I went back to Gulf Paper as Production and Maintenance Manager. In 2003, the company purchased Ameer Paper Mill in Jebel Ali, Dubai. I managed this project as Project Manager first, then as Managing Director, in addition to my responsibilities at our Kuwait factory. Since 2016, I have been holding the position of Projects and Development Manager for both paper mills. In 2019, Gulf Paper placed an order with Toscotec for a major rebuild of its PM1.
What was the reason behind this investment? And why did you select Toscotec? We had 4 main reasons to invest in this rebuild. First and foremost, we aimed to increase production. Secondly, we wanted to improve the quality of the fluting and test liner we were manufacturing. Thirdly, we wanted to reduce downtime and maintenance costs to a minimum. And finally, we wished to do a major upgrade of PM1 in order to equip it with state-of-the-art technology. We chose Toscotec because they were the first paper machinery manufacturer to introduce steel dryers, and then steel Yankee dryers, on the market. They have installed TT SteelDryers all over the world and have successfully proven the advantages of this technology compared to cast iron cylinders. At present, they are the supplier with the most extensive experience in the design, manufacturing, operation and maintenance of steel dryers.
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/