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Issue of the Missing Tissue

by Admin
0 comment

Market

Unlike other hygiene products, marketing of tissue products is lagging behind and contributing to lack of awareness among the masses, laments Jindal.

Large amount of lower grade ‘Flat’ tissues like high density MG, being manufactured by small mills, are circulating in the market making it all the more difficult for people to understand the difference. It also gives rise to another complicating factor as these mills do not report their production figures. Hence, the total production of tissue in India is unknown. But, according to Century Pulp and Paper, there may be as much as 100,000 tonnes a year of this low quality flat tissue being made by hundreds of small mills around this vast country. There are also approximately 50,000-60,000 tonnes per year of mid-quality or semi-soft tissue made by the existing main players in the market. By Century’s estimates, the market demand in India for high quality tissue paper today amounts to about 40-50,000 tonnes per year. Most of this top quality tonnage is imported either as jumbo rolls or as finished product.

As a comparison, Century adds in a report, demand in China is estimated at about 800,000 tonnes per year of prime grade tissue for a population which is slightly higher than India. “We are only at 50,000 tonnes and it is all imported. So it appears that China is using something like 13 times the per capita amount of India.” Century has procured a tissue machine from Metso Paper of Finland at its unit in Uttaranchal.

Jindal feels that “People have been trying to skimp the market. We at Pudumjee Hygiene work with the vision statement that hygiene is something that affects masses and tissue is something that should be made available to all and not just to the elite or foreign travellers. In the last three years, Pudumjee has been actively engaged in educating people and creating awareness about washroom hygiene and hand hygiene. We have also started holding sessions with various companies for their inductees giving them hygiene tips on how it is hygienic to use hand towels instead a cloth towel, how it is improper to flush it down and has to be thrown in the dustbin as it would clog the plumbing system. We also provide clients with CDs which focus on hygiene with humour and animation.”

Talking about the scene in the institutional market where Kimberly-Clark is a major supplier, Upendra says that many international travellers knew about the necessity of having tissues but lack of availability was a big problem then. . “Our approach was to first supply the product, especially to hotels and airlines industry as they were well aware about the Kimberly-Clark brand and were maintaining health and hygiene standards of international quality. With the IT and BPO sectors, where hygiene & health is of critical importance as workers spend long hours in the office, we used to visit the top companies and advise them on the Hand Hygiene concept…”

Tissue paper is now being viewed for wider applications. Says Shenoy, “Tissue, though a consumer product, is not an essential item. It is mainly consumed by the higher income groups and the people who have visited abroad. The middle and the lower income groups – about 200-300 million forming a major part of the Indian population – seldom use tissues. Besides of course, in hospitals and restaurants, there is always a demand for tissue products.”

Abroad, the kitchen towel segment is the second largest after toilet tissue. In emerging markets, kitchen towel’s share is still marginal. Rising income levels, growing numbers of women at work, and replacement of cloth towels contribute to the increased use of kitchen towels. Other towel products include tissue towels used mainly in the away-from-home segment (gas stations, restaurants, factories, hotels, and hospitals).

Napkins account for a small share of the total tissue paper business. Tourism and growth of the fast food industry are the main demand drivers here.

Asia will see the largest gain at about 40% with Europe, North and Latin America following. Demand for personal hygiene, cleanliness, convenience and the environment spurs this growth.

New Technologies

Continued growth in tissue markets, especially in developing countries, augments the need for newer technologies. Some of the emerging technologies for tissue product enhancement – especially with regards to qualities of absorbency and softness, include the following:

A shoe press ideal for facial and toilet tissues includes gentle dewatering and drying for retaining the bulk as much as possible, thus improving the structural softness and hand feel of the sheet and allowing an extremely fine crepe. Dewatering is the removal of water from solid material or soil by wet classification, centrifugation, filtration, or similar solid-liquid separation processes.

Another process includes a web uniformity improvement technology that benefits overall machine & converting productivity. This technology controls fragmentation of fibres during creping, which minimises dust on the machine and in the converting process. This aspect could improve health and safety, as well as productivity and quality.

Technologies can impart softness, absorbency and bulk increase. It can also help add a wide range of lotions, balms and converting adhesives. The ability to manage substrate properties in order to maximise the capability to achieve the required value-addition with the minimum of disruption to productivity, is a critical step.

One of the most promising emerging technologies abroad would be with enzyme fibre modification. It takes a total system approach and understanding of the chemistry and mechanics for each type of enzyme. Already, mills are realising great improvements in softness, strength and dust control through the designed use of enzymes to modify the nature of the fibre.

Economic slowdown

The panic created by the economic slowdown is much higher than its impact. Housekeeping companies are reacting instantaneously. “This is basically because the first thing to be hit in cost cutting is what is outsourced. If housekeeping companies are subjected to 30% cut in budget, it is natural that they would be placing one or two rolls of tissue instead of the usual four or five,” says Jindal.

Hence, though the consumption has reduced, the demand continues. “The economic slowdown is not very harsh on this sector,” feels Shenoy, adding that “there will be an impact with the IT industry being hit.”

Adds Upendra: “The slowdown will be evident because of the non-expansion of businesses. IT may not be hiring more employees due to slack business, the number of buildings and facilities could be fewer and hence the growth would be reduced.”

On a positive note, Shenoy says: “At the same time, the consumption in hospitals is largely unaffected. Again, in the hospitality industry, if tourism does not pick up, the consumption of tissue is likely to be affected. In Kerala, the tourism has come down to 25%!

“But again, our exports to Europe, the UK, Australia and New Zealand are on the increase. There is no recession in usage of tissue paper abroad. So, whatever the drop in the domestic sales, we are able to make up through exports. We are the largest exporter of tissue products from India.”

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