Ever wondered how tissue paper is made? Tissue paper is a part of our everyday life. We use them in the Toilet, the kitchen, at the dinner table and even on the go to wipe our faces.

In this read, we take you on the “tissue without issue” journey to show you how your favourite tissue brands such as Rose Carla, Rose Belle, Rose Plus, Rose Family, Finetex, Softwave etc. are made.

 

Soft tissue paper comes in varying thicknesses and textures but is primarily manufactured for facial tissue, toilet paper, paper towels, serviettes and sometimes packing tissue.

We’ll talk about the general process most of tissue paper products go through from raw material to finished product.

 

Pulping and Retting

The first step in the process of making soft tissue paper is creating the raw material – paper pulp, which can be generated from wood fibre or recycled materials.

After that, trees are logged and cut into chips which are then ground into fine Flakes. Pulp is created by stirring together these retted (soaked and pulled apart) fine flakes in a mixing tank with a large quantity of water. The type of tree fibre and how much water is mixed in depends on the particular product being made.

Bel Papyrus Limited, a sister company of Bel Impex limited is the Largest manufacturer of tissue paper raw material through wood pulp or recycled paper.

 

Wood Pulp

While the wood pulp is in the mixing tank, components that may be needed to soften, strengthen are added.

 

Pressing

Once the pulp is ready, it is poured over fast-moving belts (these can be 2-6 metres wide) made from highly porous materials that are driven on huge drums heated by steam. The pouring of pulp has to be even and consistent across the width of the belt/drum.

All the water escapes through the pores leaving just the fibres on the belt in the form of a delicate fabric. The tissue is transferred on to a massive heated roller called a Yankee. The Yankee roller is very hot and the fabric is dried almost instantly.

The tissue paper is then transferred to a core to form a jumbo roll. You can adjust the draw speed of the jumbo roll to get a thicker or thinner tissue. The jumbo rolls are put onto the converting machine.

 

Converting jumbo rolls to toilet rolls

When making multi-ply toilet tissue, the plies of tissue are usually split and each ply is passed through a different embossing roller. Embossing softens the toilet tissue and creates a decorative pattern. The tissue plies are brought back together then held together with glue or pressure embossing, the tissue is then perforated by a blade, (this enables the sheets to be easily pulled apart).

The tissue is then wound around a cardboard tube to create a long toilet roll the length of 23 to 25 individual toilet rolls, which are called logs. The logs have a line of glue applied to hold the end of the tissue closed. Many different roll sizes and sheet counts are produced on the winding machines. The logs are stored in an accumulator ready to be cut to length.

The log is fed into a saw and cut by a large rotating blade into individual rolls that you have at home today. The rolls are then conveyed to wrapping machines then stacked onto pallets ready for sale.

 

Today, Bel Impex Limited is the biggest manufacturer of quality tissue paper in Nigeria. We manufacture premium quality toilet tissue Rose Carla and high-quality Rose Belle. Our Tested-and-trusted Rose Plus and Rose Family is an industry landmark in the tissue market. Our ‘value for money’ Finetex brand and economy tissue brand, Softwave are dominant in the market.

 

How paper towels made?

Tissue papers for paper towels are made in similar manner as the ones for toilet tissue. The towel tissue is, however, thicker and heavier with conditioners added to give strength when the paper is wet.

 

Our Paper towels are available 2 ply options. The plies are embossed with a synchronized pattern and bonded together using lamination adhesive to add strength.

 

 

The jumbo roll being transferred to the converting machine.

 

The jumbo roll is positioned at the beginning of the converting line.

 

The toilet tissue paper is drawn off the jumbo roll by the winding machine.

 

The tissue is wound around a cardboard tube to create a long toilet roll the length of 23 to 25 individual toilet rolls. These are called logs.

 

 

The logs are stored on an accumulator, ready to be cut to length.

 

The log is fed into a saw and cut by a large rotating blade into individual rolls.

 

Tissue paper is a must use commodity in our everyday lives. This is why at Bel Impex, we make it our creed to produce only the most hygienic, quality tissue papers for everyday use.

Did you find the process of manufacturing your favourite tissue paper brand interesting?

Would you consider setting up your own tissue paper manufacturing business? Would you like to become a distributor of our quality tissues?

 

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We will respond to you quickly.

Check out our product page here to view more of our industry-leading tissue products.

Interested in becoming a distributor of our products? Give us a buzz here