Kostryzyn, Poland 20 March 2014 -- The start-up of the new tissue machine of Polish producer Hanke Tissue in Kostrzyn is imminent. In two steps, the site's tissue capacity will be raised to 44,000 tpy, the company says.

Polish hygiene paper producer and converter Hanke Tissue plans to put its new tissue machine into operation at the end of March. With this final step, the company concludes its PLN50m (€11m) investment project that was announced in 2012. As a result of the expansion, the production capacity of Hanke Tissue's mill in Kostrzyn on the German-Polish border is to increase from 14,000 tpy to 34,000 tpy of tissue to begin with. According to a company spokesman, the new machine's production will be raised by another 10,000 tpy in a second step, pushing the site's total tissue capacity to 44,000 tpy.

Hanke Tissue said it would use virgin fibre pulp as a raw material for production at the new machine which was delivered by Italian engineering company Recard. As part of the project, the company also built two new halls with a combined base area of 8,000 m² for production and storage. The expansion is said to create 50 new jobs, raising the number of employees in Kostrzyn to 300.

Hanke Tissue also converts tissue and produces hygiene paper products which it delivers mainly to Eastern European retailers. The company has been fully owned by German holding company MBB Industries since 2011.