Sofidel announced the formal opening of its 1.8 million-square-foot greenfield tissue mill in Inola, Oklahoma.
The $360 million technologically and environmentally advanced plant is Sofidel's second greenfield investment in the U.S. — the first of which is in Circleville, Ohio, and started-up October of 2018. The Circleville mill has the capacity to produce 140,000 tons of tissue per year.
The new mill in Inola operates two paper machines and 14 converting lines and has the capacity to produce 120,000 tons of tissue per year.
Sofidel began construction of the Inola mill in 2018.
"The U.S. market is fundamental for the growth of the Sofidel Group and the new plant, enabling an enhanced production capacity and a further improvement of the geographical coverage, strengthens our position and creates the conditions for further growth," said Luigi Lazzareschi, CEO of the Sofidel Group.
The Inola plant is strategically located about 30 miles east of Tulsa. Spread over 240 acres within an industrial park, it employs more than 300 people. The site, which has easy access to highways, air, rail and other key infrastructure, allows capacity to be doubled in a second operational phase that would increase the expected job total to 600.
Sustainability and energy efficiency are key components at the facility, including conical refiners to minimize the energy consumed in the fiber-refining process and pumping systems featuring dry seals that allow the use of recycled water.
In addition, the plant has adapted techniques from the food and beverage industry to improve logistics. An automated system transfers finished goods from the converting lines to the warehouse, using laser guided vehicles (LGVs).
The Oklahoma plant primarily will serve the south-central and central-western United States, a market where Sofidel has had a presence since 2012 and where it has grown rapidly, year after year. Locally, it has partnered with the Cherokee Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology to attract and recruit job candidates.
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