SCA Tissue Announces Start-Up of Second Paper Machine in Alabama
Share:
No. 14 machine will strengthen company's strategic position and customer service and create improved efficiencies
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 20, 2008 - SCA Tissue started up its new No. 14 paper machine on October 17 at their plant in Barton, Alabama. The new machine represents a strategic investment of $145 million that together with the Barton plant's existing paper machine will increase annual tissue production at the facility by 70,000 tons to 180,000 tons.
"This new paper machine strengthens our strategic position in the industry and increases our ability to better service our customers by increasing our internal supply of tissue. This will serve to enhance our ability to supply customers effectively and to build on our already industry-leading fill-rate of 99.8 percent," said Don Lewis, SCA Tissue President.
"The Southeast Region is the fastest growing in the country. Because SCA uses a regional manufacturing approach that involves making products in the regions where they will be shipped, the new machine in Barton is a strategic choice for us," said Lewis. "This investment also reflects our company's confidence in our Barton employees and speaks to our belief in Northwest Alabama as an excellent place to do business."
An event celebrating the start up is scheduled for mid-November.
The 19-month project included construction of a 250,000 square foot building that houses the new 36-foot tall paper machine, a new deink line sized at 100,000 tons per year and additional capacity for wastepaper storage and handling. The project also included an expansion to the water treatment facility.
"When we chose the Barton site in 2004 we were looking for enough land to allow for an expansion of this kind. SCA owns 650 acres here. The position along the Tennessee River was critical as papermaking requires an adjacent water source," said James Haeffele, manager for the Barton expansion project. "Good planning and excellent teamwork made it possible for us to take on this expansion with no interruption in the ongoing operations at the site."
The No. 12 machine that was installed at Barton when the greenfield plant opened in early 2004 is a wet crepe machine that makes paper for conversion into toweling and dispenser-type napkins under the company's global Tork® brand for Away From Home markets. No. 14 is a dry-crepe machine that will produce paper for Tork tissues and two-ply dinner napkins. The two machines will supply all the paper used by the 32 converting lines located in the complex.
The addition of the No. 14 machine has added more then 30 jobs, bringing total payroll in the mill, converting and distribution operations to approximately 500.
New Machine in Barton/ADD ONE
"The investment in this Barton facility was the largest investment SCA made globally in the past year. This reflects the confidence of SCA in our US tissue operations, which are totally dedicated to the Away-From-Home tissue market, " said Lewis.
All products from the SCA Tissue mills are made from 100 percent recycled paper. With the new machine, Barton will process an additional 100,000 tons of waste paper per year, bringing the total annual recycled tonnage for SCA Tissue to 800,000. That's enough recycled material to cover more than 249 football fields, including end zones, with bales of wastepaper three feet high.
Recycling by SCA Tissue annually results in environmental savings of 302 million gallons of oil, 2.4 million cubic yards of landfill space, 5.6 billion gallons of water and 3.2 billion kilowatts of electricity.
SCA Tissue is a leading manufacturer of paper napkins, tissues, towels and wipers used in commercial settings such as restaurants, office buildings, schools and healthcare facilities. Nearly half of the disposable napkins used in U.S. restaurants are manufactured by SCA Tissue, which has annual sales of $1 billion and total employment of 2,400 people.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, SCA Tissue has manufacturing and office facilities in Wisconsin, Arizona, Illinois and upstate New York in addition to Alabama.
A division of SCA Americas, SCA Tissue is owned by SCA, a $17 billion global manufacturer of personal hygiene products, publication paper and forestry products with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. SCA employs 50,000 people worldwide and conducts business in 90 countries.
SCA was named the second greenest company on the planet last year by The Independent, a major British newspaper, in conjunction with Ethical Investment Research Services. SCA also has won worldwide recognition for its sustainable and ethical business practices.
SCA Tissue was the first U.S. papermaker to earn EcoLogoCM certification for its environmentally friendly processes and products and is an active member and supporter of the U.S. Green Building Council.
In just over four years of operation, the state-of-the-art facility in Barton has won multiple environmental kudos, including a state pollution prevention award, a state waste recycling award and an award from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
For more information on SCA Tissue, visit www.torkusa.com. For more information on SCA, visit www.sca.com.
Media contact:
Cindy Stilp
Director of Marketing and Communications
SCA Tissue North America
1451 McMahon Drive
Neenah, WI 54956
Phone: 920-720-4773
Fax: 920-720-4595
Cell: 920-941-0616
SCA TISSUE NORTH AMERICA
Cira Centre, Suite 2600
2929 Arch Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
www.scatissue.com
