2015 07 31
On 27 August 2015, Grigiškės AB opened a new tissue paper production plant which will operate with the most up-to-date paper production machine in the Baltic countries. The company invested nearly 20 million euro in the building and new equipment. The new plant will enable the company to double its production capacity and to implement the company’s plans to expand its volume of exports.
Evaldas Gustas, Minister of the Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, attended the official opening of the plant and congratulated the company with its successful investment, drawing attention to the importance of change in strengthening the image of Lithuania as a competitive industrial paper manufacturer and processor in international markets.
“The new papermaking machine will significantly increase the company’s production capacity and will enable further production and sales development. The affordability and consumption of tissue paper is growing rapidly, especially in the Baltic countries. Our existing production lines were no longer capable of producing enough to meet the demand. The capacity of the new machine will reach 30,000 tons per year, not only for the development of growth opportunities today, but also for the future”, said Gintautas Pangonis, President of Grigiškės AB.
The new machine will produce cellulose paper of extra high quality, with exceptional softness and strength characteristics, to be used for tissue paper, paper towels, cleaning paper, tissues and napkins. Up till now, the company has produced about 24,000 tons of tissue paper a year, while the new paper machine will allow it to expand the production capacity to 47,000 tons. About 30 per cent of this increase will be achieved this year. Approximately 30 per cent of production marketed under the name of Grite is sold in Lithuania, while the rest of the products are exported to other Baltic and Scandinavian countries, including Poland and other foreign countries.
G. Pangonis noted that the new machine will also allow the company to raise the quality of the tissue paper produced to a whole new level in Lithuania. In this market segment, the quality of paper is defined by the balance of softness and strength. He says that the company’s products will be equal to or better than those of other global leaders.
The new paper machine is the only one of its kind in the Baltic States and allows for the operation of one of the most modern facilities in Eastern Europe. A 20 metre-high production workshop was specially built for its installation. Some of the devices in the paper machine were custom-made according to the special order of Grigiškės AB, and due to their very large size, were shipped from Italy to the port of Klaipeda and then delivered to Grigiškės. The delivery of all the items from the production line in Italy to the Grigiškės factory required as many as 100 heavy duty trucks.
Because the weight of one of the main cylinders was 72 tons, they were loaded with an extra powerful crane having a lifting capacity of 750 tons. The machine’s rotation speed can reach up to 1800 metres per minute, or 108 kilometres per hour. The installation work took about 5 months.
The new machine can produce a paper roll with a diameter of 2.6 metres, which is about 85 km of paper. The plant is not only characterized by its high production efficiency, but also meets the highest environmental standards in the European Union, along with a very cost efficient use of water and energy during production.