What tissue maker doesn’t dream of making premium tissue with less fiber, energy and water? What if it’s soft, pliable and nearly dust-free?

1. 36 Paper360º MAY/JUNE 2016 www.tappi.org
millwise | TISSUE
Be Original: The Path to LC
Paper’s OnePly Tissue
MARTIN KOEPENICK
What tissue maker doesn’tdream
of making premium tissue with less fiber,
energy and water? What if it’s soft, pliable
and nearly dust-free? That’s exactly what LC
PaperhasachievedwithitsOnePlyecobrand,
focusedontheAwayfromHome(AfH)sector.
Anotherachievement:LCPapermanufactures
in Spain, yet wins customers as far away as
North America.
“Never copy, be original; that’s our core
idea,” says Joan Vila, CEO of LC Paper in
Besalu, Spain, just inland from the Costa
Brava. “Tissue making advances are usually
based on copying a good idea and taking it
up a notch. But, what if you invent an idea
around a need, test it and perfect it to deliver
anentirelynewoffering?Youhaveanopening
as amarket leader.Then youcanworkrelent-
lesslytoadaptandadaptagainuntilyoureach
your own finish line.”
LC Paper, which began as a papermaker
in 1881 as part of the Spanish industrial
revolution, fell into decline 40 years ago and
almost ceased to exist. That’s when Joan Vila
brought in his team to revitalize the mill.
Transformation began on day one. They
rebuilt both existing and newly-acquired
used equipment, and worked long hours to
produce wrapping paper. They self-financed
anddevelopedrelationshipswithsuppliersto
keep moving forward.
INTENSE ENERGY FOR
ENERGY REDUCTION
Oncetheybroughtthemilltoaviablelevel,
Vila and his team turned to energy reduc-
tion as a critical path to profitability. To take
control of spiraling energy costs, in 1993 the
companyinstalledaco-generationplant.The
12MWfacilityreducedenergycostsconsider-
ably,andthatledtodoublingcapacityin2001.
Building on its success with PM 2, producing
a range of wrapping grades at the time, LC
Paper launched a bold new tissue machine
in 2009. The PM3 tissue machine included a
patented process that takes exhaust from the
co-generationplanttodrythepaperbymeans
of an innovative hood already in place. This
machine became the runway for the OnePly
breakthrough, which took several years
to commercialize.
In 2012, LC Paper found a way to replace
a diesel engine with a new gas engine in the
cogeneration plant. Always seeking greener
solutions, this decision allowed for six MW
of energy for the new hood on PM2, which
further reduced energy consumption at an
equal level of production.
Vila notes that the rebuild project was suc-
cessfulbecauseofclosecollaborationbetween
the LC Paper team, Toscotec and Milltech,
whichwereabletointroduceinnovativesolu-
tionstothetissueproductionprocessinaccor-
dancewiththeLCPaperbusinessphilosophy.
R & D WITH PASSION
Well before installing PM 3, LC Paper
embarked on a research and innovation ini-
tiative focused on new ways to manufacture
tissue paper, enabling the company to lower
rawmaterialcostswhileusinglessenergyand
water. They also had aspirations for a switch
to one-ply, combined with high flexibility on
the fly.
“Our complete reengineering of the tissue
paper manufacturing process led to altering
the traditional concept of plies. Conserving
energy and water, consumption fell to 2,100
kWh/metric ton (compared to standard 3.100
kWh/metric ton) and water consumption of
2.5 cubic meters/ton – levels unheard of in the
tissue sector,” says Vila.
Alongside their research and innovation
developments, the LC Paper team realized
the importance of changes in thinking about
the day-to-day process of tissue making – not
only considering the equipment, controls
and consumables.
They launched “linear manufacturing,”
allowing changes to be made in real time; this
spontaneitysupportsnewproductdevelopment
andcustom-madeorders.Whenanopportunity
arises from new or important customers, the
team uses an “all hands on deck” approach to
meetthechallenge.Theyrisksomelostproduc-
tion,buttheteamconsidersthatlessimportant
thananewcustomerwonoranewdooropened.
Joan Vila, CEO of LC Paper, believes in being hands-on with his team. “Never copy, invent your own
future,” is his philosophy.

2. Paper360º MAY/JUNE 2016 37
From this philosophy came the break-
throughofOnePlytissuepaper,thecompany’s
monolayerproduct,whichreducesthedemand
for raw materials, energy and water. At the
same time, LC Paper found a way to produce
tissuewithsuchdensityontherollitcan“ship
like bricks.”
In what has become a tradition of pioneer-
ing,Vilaandhisteamhavetakenstepsforward
usingnewceramic-coatedbladedevelopments.
DUST-DEFYING CERAMIC BLADES
Vila, always seeking higher productivity
and energy reduction, believed that ceramic-
coateddoctorbladescouldbemadetoenhance
quality and last longer. As he puts it, “if the
equilibrium between the felts and the coating
could be enhanced, a better, more consistent
product would result.”
Infact,specially-developedCeraEdgecrep-
ing blades from Kadant are achieving that
equilibrium so effectively that productivity
has risen. According to Vila, “The blades last
four times longer, and best of all, we have a
dramatic reduction of dusting in the mill and
in thesheet.We don’t have documentedproof
yet, but energy savings are clearly another
advantage.”
Vincent Charpentier, who leads CeraEdge
creping blade sales for Kadant in Europe,
explainstheseresults.“TheCeraEdgecreping
bladeproduceslessdustingandlintingduetoa
smootherwearedgeandimpactsurfaceversus
traditionalceramicblades,”hesays.“LCPaper’s
focus on innovation gave us a unique oppor-
tunity to refine the particle selection shape,
Joaquin Biera, Kadant representative, and Joan Vila, CEO of LC Paper, discuss improvements on the
PM 3 tissue machine. Kadant’s CeraEdge creping blades reduce dust and last four times longer.
When the tissue machine runs cleaner, worker safety gets a boost.

3. 38 Paper360º MAY/JUNE 2016 www.tappi.org
size distribution and chemical composition
to meet their needs.”
PM 2 AS A TISSUE MACHINE
In late 2014, LC Paper relaunched its vastly
updated and customized PM 2 to produce tis-
sue,reinforcingthecompany’svisionofbeing
amarketleaderinsingle-layertissuemanufac-
turing through its OnePly line. PM2 has been
retrofitted to produce tissue from 100 percent
recycled paper.
LCPapercontinuestodeveloptechnologyin
the tissue manufacturing sector to meet cus-
tomerneedsbycreatingenvironmentallysus-
tainable products. “Every product that leaves
our factory is certified with the Ecolabel and
PSFCorFSCenvironmentalpolicies,”saysVila.
“Ouraimisalwaystobesustainableandenvi-
ronmentallyfriendly.Sustainabilityisourway
of funding future investments.”
BasedontheadvancesinproducingOnePly,
the focus is now on converting. The tissue on
the roll can be so dense that it’s a challenge to
cut. Overcoming this obstacle will open the
way for sales far and wide because tissue is
usually not dense enough for long distance
shipping.FranceandSpainareLCPaper’spri-
marymarkets,butOnePlyhasopenedtheway
for customers as far away as North America.
NorthAfricaisalsoagrowthmarketforthem.
“When a niche product allows you to
compete in entirely new markets, you have
a solid basis for growth,” says Vila. “If this
means continuous adapting of tissue making
processes, including converting, we’re up to
the challenge.”
Martin KoepenickispresidentofInnovaandcan
be reached at mkoepen@earthlink.net.
Operators have the flexibility to make changes on the fly, as well as meet customer needs.
“Fuel innovation by listening to yourself and the
dynamic team around you,” states Joan Vila,
CEO of LC Paper and “Innovator in Chief.”
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