Machinery
Innovation of technological assets in papermaking and converting
The focus on technological assets is a constant throughout the history of Sofidel, which over the years has proved capable of building positive, long-lasting relationships in this area, also in terms of research and development, with some of the industry’s main suppliers.
Starting in 2016, the outburst towards innovation has translated into a huge task of renewing its own technological assets.
With regard to the first phase of the production process (where pulp is transformed into paper), Sofidel has purchased new paper machines featuring NTT technology (Advantage New Tissue Technology) for the production of standard tissue and textured paper, which can enable higher levels of efficiency in terms of raw material and energy.
As for the second phase of production (where paper is transformed into finished products), the Group progressively activated new Constellation converting lines, that feature an innovative technology offering a better overall reeling quality while preserving the product’s softness and ensuring uniform sheet separation from start to finish of every roll.
Logistics automation
By applying techniques to the tissue paper industry which were borrowed from the food & beverage sector, Sofidel has been able to develop in some of its plants a system for the automated transfer of paper reels from the papermill to the converting lines – making use of laser-guided vehicles (LGVs) – and a fully automated management system of the finished product – through the use of the automated Smart Store warehouse.
IREAD4.0 project
The IREAD4.0 project which aims to develop an integrated hardware/software system (“Cyber Physical System”) for the monitoring and automatic management of pallets and forklifts in large warehouses characterised by high rotation index products.