ABC Tissue Expanding and Increasing Integration with Base Paper Making

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For the manufacturer of Australia's leading Quilton toilet paper brand, ABC’s development program will make it the largest tissue manufacturer in the region when complete. According to the plan, ABC Tissue's manufacturing capacity will almost triple and be around 140,000 tonnes/yr, equivalent to about half of Australia's demand and to 40% of the regional demand in Oceania.

In Sydney, the company now operates one 3.4-m trim A.Celli PM with a capacity of about 34,000 tonnes/yr, according to estimates. At this site, another similar PM from A.Celli, originally delivered to China but never installed there, is under construction with start up planned before the end of 2016. However, the exact start up date is under wraps. Its capacity is estimated at 35,000 tonnes/yr. ABC Tissue has a lot more converting than tissue base paper making capacity at this site at the moment and imports parent rolls mainly from China.

In Brisbane, Queensland, where the company currently operates only one PM, PM 2 after the closure of PM 1 and rebuild of PM 2 in 2013, the company has announced a rebuild for PM 1. However, this probably will be a replacement of the old PM 1 with the second-hand Valmet PM from China rather than any rebuild due to the age on PM 1. This replacement was also expected to take place by the end of 2016.

The second Valmet PM from Huizhou Fook Woo in China may go to a new mill site as it is dubbed PM 1 in the company's plans. However, the location is still "undisclosed", but the company may consider building this PM on the Australian West Coast, where it has a converting plant in Perth. Considering the long transport distances in Australia, this would be a logical alternative to parent roll imports, especially provided the Australian dollar will continue to remain weak against US dollar.

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