The Toilet Tissue Paper Manufacturing and converting process

Learn how tissue paper is made

The toilet/tissue paper manufacturing process starts by creating a paper. There are 2 kinds of manufacturing processes for toilet/tissue paper;

1. Made with virgin paper products (formed from chipped wood)
2. Made from recycled paper.

Making toilet/tissue paper from the trees

Not all types of trees are used to manufacture toilet/tissue paper. Generally, it is made from “virgin” paper, which is a combination of softwood (approx. 30%) and hardwood trees (approx. 70%). In the final product, to achieve durability in the toilet/tissue paper, water, chemicals and bleaches are added.

1. To prepare it, softwood and hardwood trees are stripped of their bark with machines, leaving as much wood as possible.
2. The bare logs are then passed through machines to cut it into smaller pieces and then carefully separated into batches.
3. The wood chip batches are then cooked in a mixture of chemicals for a few hours.
4. The wood moisture is then evaporated and the mass is reduced to cellulose fibres, lignin (adhesive that binds fibres together) and other substances. The result is usable fibre, called pulp. The pulp is what paper is made from.
5. The lignin and the cooking chemicals are then washed out of the pulp.
6. The washed pulp is then bleached until all the colour is removed. The lignin must be removed from the pulp or the paper will become yellow over time.
7. The pulp is mixed with a lot of water to produce paper stock, which is sprayed onto screens of mesh to drain the water.
8. The paper is then pressed, dried, scraped off with metal blades, wound around jumbo reels and then moved to machines that cut it into long strips and perforate it into squares.
9. Finally, the paper logs are cut into rolls and wrapped toilet/tissue paper packages. Voila!

Making toilet/tissue paper from recycled materials

1. Waste paper is collected, sorted and brought to the paper plant mill, where it is mixed with water and chemicals, then pulped, filtered, refined and turned into pulp.
2. The treated pulp comes out of the paper mill on a jumbo roll, which is then transported to a converting tissue plant where it will be converted into the final product (i.e. toilet rolls/tissue paper).
3. The toilet/tissue paper is then embossed, perforated and transferred onto long toilet logs as per the correct sheet count.
4. The long toilet/tissue paper logs are then fed to the band saw which automatically cuts the toilet/tissue paper logs to the correct size, ready to be packed.
5. It is then fed into the various wrapping machines and shipped to the various riots retailers.

Jobs in Tissue Paper Converting

Do you have experience working in a tissue converting Plant?

Tissue Plant Manager Job in Angola

A leading importing, manufacturing, distribution and FMCG company is looking to hire a highly-skilled Plant/ Factory Manager. You will be responsible for directing and coordinating the daily operations of the manufacturing plant as well as, developing strategies to ensure the plant meets production goals and standards, etc.

Download Job Spec for Tissue Plant Manager Job in Angola

To apply: Send your CV to Lizette Pienaar at lizette@caglobalint.com

Thank you for reading.

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