UPM Pulp and Andritz have signed a strategic, multi-year cooperation agreement to enable tissue manufacturers to develop and optimize next-generation tissue products and processes.
The partnership provides dedicated access to pilot-scale development at Andritz's PrimeLineTIAC Tissue Innovation and Application Center in Graz, Austria, where manufacturers can optimize fibre and process solutions tailored to their production setup while developing and commercializing innovative products faster. As part of the agreement, UPM hardwood pulp, UPM Euca, will serve as the standard pulp across all customer and internal trials at the facility, which supports dry-crepe, textured, and structured Through-Air-Drying tissue manufacturing technologies. Tomas Wiklund, Senior Vice President of Pulp Sales at UPM Fibres, stated that bringing fibre expertise and Andritz's process technology together in a shared development environment provides customers with unique technical capabilities and world-class facilities.
Franz Harrer, Director Global R&D and Pilot Operations at Andritz, noted that trialing on a live production machine is costly and disruptive, while the pilot plant supports continuous process innovation and de-risking of investments.
Tissue producers can participate directly in joint trials, working with both UPM's technical team and Andritz's process experts to drive innovation across the value chain from raw materials to production processes.