Innventia Launches New Tissue Cluster

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Innventia, Stockholm, Sweden, today announced that it has launched a new tissue paper project or "cluster." The participating companies and Innventia have together decided on the focus for the next two years. Having previously concentrated on energy issues, the new cluster will focus more on the different aspects of product properties.

The cluster is part of Innventia's Cluster Research Program, and follows from the previous tissue cluster that ended last winter. Pulp manufacturers, their suppliers, and tissue manufacturers will all be involved in the project, and have helped to shape the focus and content of the cluster.

"One key aspect of the Cluster Research Program is that the content is adapted according to the participating companies, so that the results really do meet future needs in terms of problem-solving and development," explains Innventia's Mattias Drotz. "Together with suppliers, customers, and competitors, we are carrying out research to build up knowledge that will move technology forwards. During the kick-off, the project participants set important priorities. The atmosphere was excellent, and we now have a clear direction for the project's activities."

Hannes Vomhoff is scientific advisor in the tissue research cluster and one of the participants from Innventia at the kick-off session. "In the previous tissue cluster, we focused on energy efficiency, which is an important aspect of all papermaking, but we will now be focusing on different aspects of product functionality. For example, this will involve investigating the mechanical properties of low grammage products and ways in which the fibers can be modified to make them stronger."

The fiber properties also affect the conditions for the manufacturing process. For example, problems with dusting can arise in the paper machine during manufacturing, as well as during conversion and post-treatment, or when used by the end-consumer. It is also important for manufacturers to optimize the use of the raw material for cost reasons, Innventia says.

"By finding the right type of fibers, we can reduce the grammage and thus minimize the cost of the raw material," Drotz adds.

Innventia is a research and development company that works with innovations based on forest raw materials. The majority of its operations are carried out in project form through research programs involving partners, such as the three-year Cluster Research Program, or in development projects with individual customer companies. Innventia also conducts direct commissions in the form of analyses, testing, and demonstrations in its lab and pilot plants. The company has some 225 employees, 200 who are based in the Stockholm area