The prestigious magazine dedicated to the Tissue paper world interviews, for its January/February 2024 issue, Luca Billi about developments over the past year and the company's future.
What technological advancements really stand out for your business from the past year, and what R&D are you looking into for 2024?
Over the past year, the A.Celli group has matured, developed and designed a series of technological innovations that have had a positive spin-off and been well-received by the industry.
With regards to the tissue world in particular, our main effort has been concentrated on the development of the new SMARNIP® T technology, a shoe press for tissue that improves efficiency and performance while preserving the integrity of the final product and maintaining its bulk and softness. Our new solution combines the reliability and robustness of the previous versions developed by PMT with the functionality and low maintenance requirements of pneumatic feeding.
Of course, interesting developments are also in the pipeline for 2024, which we will continue to introduce to the market, with the main objective of satisfying our customers’ needs.
What requests have customers been making in terms of improved energy efficiencies in 2023, and how has your business responded?
All technological solutions developed by A.Celli are conceived, right from the conception and design phase, with a focus on efficiency. This approach allows us to guarantee our customers low energy impact production.
As evidence of this trend we can mention, in addition to the already mentioned Shoe press SMARNIP® T technology, other recent innovations that we have launched on the market in recent years, such as the forged Yankee dryer, its iDEAL® Evo-Lock variant and the A.Celli X-Roll®. To complete the offer with a view to integration but always with a focus on efficiency, the A.Celli group has recently promoted the R-WAY® solutions dedicated to automatic product handling and plant intralogistics.
In a more general and transversal perspective, talking about the subject of digitisation, we have developed a specific solution that is part of the OMNIA DP offer. One application, in particular, ‘Energy Management’, is capable of collecting production data from all the gateways on the machinery and analysing it to obtain a complete overview of the energy consumption of all the equipment in the plant. Moreover, the application provides indicators for monitoring and useful information for reducing emissions as well as for the precise identification of the cost per unit of product.
How is AI changing your business, and what opportunities and challenges are there for the tissue industry generally in adapting and advancing with AI?
Systems and applications that base their functionality on the use of AI are now increasingly present in the industrial fabric industry, not only in the paper industry, but across all sectors. This transition is profoundly affecting the way companies operate and compete. It is now obvious that those who manage to exploit these technologies could gain a significant competitive advantage over their competitors.
A.Celli guarantees a very high level of attention to the evolution of these disciplines and of the entire IT and digital sector. Our commitment goes back a long way to when, in 2016, a division dedicated to digital solutions, Extreme Automation, was founded. Today, our offering - OMNIA DP - consists of a flexible, cloud-based software suite capable of monitoring and improving almost every aspect of a production plant, from anywhere, at any time. The integration of all this, with the generative potential offered by artificial intelligence systems, is already being implemented.
What environmental and/or social advancements has your company made in 2023, and what is in store in 2024 for the company’s sustainable development?
The entire A.Celli group has made environmental sustainability goals a cornerstone of its vision by embarking on a virtuous energy path many years ago that sees us efficient and autonomous. All this has allowed us to be a reality that has practically reached the goal of zero impact, thanks to the implementations linked to sustainability and the adoption of best practices, and to the fact that we are, by nature of production, a non-energy consuming and non-polluting company.
Also and above all for the future, the A.Celli Group confirms its commitment to pursuing the social responsibility of doing business, through facts, actions and concrete responses, supporting solid and sustainable growth over time.
What changes have you seen in tissue demand/ supply and tissue trends in America and in China over the past year?
The focus on sustainability is an increasingly evident factor. This is noticeable in the North American market, but also globally. Particularly in the more developed markets, the trend is clear: consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of recirculation and reuse, and manufacturers are increasingly encouraged to position themselves in the market with ‘green’ products. This growing interest has generated a demand for environmentally friendly tissue products, more sustainable production processes and reduced environmental impact.
The tissue industry is working hard to promote sustainability and circularity throughout the supply chain, starting with a focus on the water and energy used in production processes, thinking about the effects of transporting tissue products, and concluding with their recovery and recycling at the end of their life cycle.
With reference to China, we have noticed a change in direction, reducing investments aimed exclusively at increasing production, and beginning to focus also in the direction of a demand for high quality tissue products, with local manufacturers thus raising the level of production technology and quality of the final product. Ultimately, we look forward to a 2024 full of significant opportunities and challenges for the entire tissue industry.