Italy's Sofidel Opens Its 140,000-Ton/yr Integrated Tissue Facility

Italian tissue paper manufacturer Sofidel has opened its 140,000-ton/yr tissue mill and converting plant, one of its most technologically and environmentally advanced facilities in the world, with innovative machinery that increases both the quality of its products and the energy efficiency of its operations.

The Circleville plant is Sofidel’s largest worldwide and its first integrated paper mill built from the ground up in the US. Since expanding to the US in 2012, Sofidel now has operations in seven states: Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"The United States is a crucial market for us and is where we intend to grow,’’ said Luigi Lazzareschi, CEO of the Sofidel Group. "This plant will help us fuel our growth significantly and further our commitment to sustainable, environmentally responsible development. We are extremely proud of this plant and look forward to being an important part of the Circleville community for decades to come."

"This is an historic moment for Sofidel,’’ said Emi Stefani, chairman of the Sofidel Group. "This facility is our largest, most modern and sustainable to date and employs the best technology available in the tissue paper industry.’’

Sofidel has invested about $400 million in the site and, once running at full capacity, the facility will employ approximately 700 people.

The facility is equipped with two Advantage New Tissue Technology (NTT) 200 paper mill machines, manufactured by Valmet. Advantage NTT 200 technology allows the production of both standard tissue and textured paper and will enable Sofidel to further increase the quality of its products, reduce water usage, and recycle heat to power driers and fuel the plant. Each machine runs at 2,000 m/min with a wire width of 5.5 m. 

The plant has 10 lines for producing the finished products, including three Constellation lines manufactured by Fabio Perini, with advanced reeling technology that preserves the product’s softness while ensuring uniform sheet separation from start to finish of every roll.

The plant features a new system for recovering heat generated by turbines. The heat will be conveyed through extractor hoods and used to dry the rolls of paper, then produce steam. The system will supply almost all the energy needed to dry the paper and, under certain operating conditions, will power the entire machine.

In addition, the plant has adapted techniques from the food and beverage industry to improve logistics. An automated system transfers paper reels from the paper mill to the converting lines using laser guided vehicles (LGVs). An automated Smart Store warehouse is capable of handling more than 50,000 pallets of finished product, creating a space savings of up to 40 percent.

At the grand opening, Lazzareschi and Stefani were joined by Brian Lenihan, acting executive director of SelectUSA, and Kenny McDonald, president and chief economic officer for Columbus 2020. Sofidel clients and suppliers, federal, state and local officials, and other stakeholders also attended the event. The project was made possible through assistance from SelectUSA, JobsOhio, Columbus 2020, the Pickaway Progress Partnership and other public and private partnerships.

The second Advantage machine is due to start up in another month. Speaking with journalists later, Lazzareschi noted there is room to expand further and looking to the long-term, a TAD machine is a probability.

About 700 people attended the opening. A gala dinner that night to celebrate the opening attracted about 500.