Pilot-scale trials conducted at ANDRITZ’s Tissue pilot plant PrimeLineTIAC in Austria confirmed that Metsä Pine delivers excellent strength and energy efficiency – matching the performance of leading market reference pulps, even with a reduced softwood pulp percentage.
The critical role of high-quality softwood pulp
In premium TAD kitchen towel grades, the share of softwood typically exceeds 50%, making its quality a decisive factor in final product performance.
“Our tests clearly show that Metsä Softwood Pulp performs exceptionally well in the TAD process.” says Pirkko-Leena Hakkarainen, Product Development Director at Metsä Fibre. “Its consistent quality and reliable strength support the demanding structural requirements of high-quality kitchen towels. These pulp characteristics translate directly into improved end-product strength, absorbency and durability.”
Nordic softwood fibres – known for their naturally long fibre structure – provide high tensile strength, good runnability and efficient dewatering. In tissue applications, these qualities contribute to optimized absorbency and overall product functionality.
Strong performance with lower energy consumption
In test runs, Metsä Pine achieved strength levels fully comparable to the reference pulp. Absorbency performance was also on par, and energy efficiency proved competitive. “All tested Metsä pulps showed excellent runnability on the machine” says Kirsi Hirvonen, Senior Development Manager at Metsä Fibre. “A particular highlight was the combination of high strength and low energy consumption achieved with Metsä Pine from our Kemi mill.”
Notably, the kitchen towel rolls produced in the trial compared favourably to commercially available products. Towels made with Metsä Pine were actually stronger than many market brands – even though the softwood pulp percentage in the furnish was lower. This demonstrates that Metsä Pine pulp enables the manufacturing of premium-quality, cost-effective products with optimized furnish composition.
The results also show that total energy efficiency in TAD base paper production can be further improved by minimizing the required softwood content and refining intensity. “Metsä Pine clearly offers potential for our tissue customers to enhance product quality while simultaneously reducing costs,” Hakkarainen adds.
Next steps
If you are interested in learning more about the trial results or the technical performance of Metsä Fibre’s softwood pulps in TAD applications, we can provide a more detailed technical article. Our sales and technical customer service teams are also available to discuss how these findings can benefit your production processes and product portfolio.
Metsä Pine key benefits in TAD kitchen towel applications
• Superior strength and energy efficiency
• Exceptional performance in TAD process
• Enhanced product quality while simultaneously reducing costs