On September 8, 2020, Vladislav Shapsha, a Provisional Governor of the Kaluga Region, officially launched the plant for the production of sanitary tissue products of Arkhbum Tissue Group LLC (Vorsino industrial park, a subsidiary of Arkhangelsk PPM JSC, part of Pulp Mill Holding, the Austrian-German group).
The event was also attended by Olga Epifanova, a Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, representatives of the banking sector and the business community.
According to Vladislav Shapsha, two great ideas were the key to the success of the project: the first one was to build a plant, and the second one was to build it in the Kaluga Region. He also focused on the fact that the work of a large number of people has been invested in the creation of the plant, starting from the development of the site and connection of utilities, and ending with the selection of a large highly professional team. “I would like the project to continue, to build a second and a third lines. Kaluga Region is a great place to meet friends,” said Vladislav Shapsha.
Vladimir Krupchak, a member of the Board of Directors of the Arkhangelsk PPM, emphasized that the company has already begun the construction of the second line of the plant with a total cost of 8.5 billion rubles. The corresponding contract was signed on April 20, 2020. The plant's capacity will be increased up to 140 thousand tons/year, and the number of employees will be increased up to 535 employees.
Vladimir Krupchak also said that the long-term development plan for Arkhbum Tissue Group provides for the third line of the plant's development with a budget estimate of 8.5 billion rubles. Its capacity will increase to 210 thousand tons/year, and the number of employees will increase to 685.
“Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank Anatoly Artamonov, who has headed the administration of the Kaluga region for many years, and today is the Senator of the Federation Council, as well as Vladislav Shapsha, the Provisional Governor of the region, for creating a favorable investment climate in the region,” said Vladimir Krupchak.
At the opening ceremony, Anatoly Artamonov, a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, read out the welcome address of Valentina Matvienko, a Chairman of the Federation Council, who called the opening of the Arkhbum Tissue Group LLC plant an important milestone in history, noting the great concern for the preservation of ecology and natural resources.
The plant has an eco-project status. The plant uses imported raw materials from the Arkhangelsk PPM. The innovative technology offered by Andritz (equipment supplier) allows the paper machine to consume less energy, is odorless and has minimal waste. The Viessmann steam boiler plant uses heat energy in the form of saturated steam. The newest Flootech treatment facilities (Finland) are installed on the industrial site. Biological treatment of industrial wastewater involves the use of special cellulose-decomposing bacteria, for which pulp is the food medium.
“It's easy to be green! The manufactured products are completely safe and environmentally friendly both for humans and for nature", - this is how Irina Galakhova, a Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arkhbum Tissue Group, began her welcoming speech.
She also said that the Pulp Mill Holding team had been going for a long time to implement a big idea - to complete the full cycle of pulp processing of the parent mill of the Arkhangelsk PPM, but thanks to respected investors - VTB and IDF, this project, worth 11.5 billion rubles, was implemented in the shortest possible time. “Just imagine that 2 years ago there was a field on this place and today we are opening one of the most up-dated and powerful plant in Eastern Europe, ”said Irina Galakhova.
According to Dmitry Zyliov, CEO of Arkhangelsk PPM, the mill is actively developing its presence in the domestic market, being one of the largest producers of high-quality pulp in Russia. He added: “Pulp is a semi-finished product from which the final product with high added value is produced at our own plant in Vorsino - Arkhbum Tissue Group.”
Dmitry Zyliov, CEO of the mill, emphasized: “The new Pulp Mill Holding plant near Kaluga means stable sales of APPM products and an increase in taxes. Secondly, an increase in our capacity means an increase in timber harvesting, which will create new jobs in the Arkhangelsk region, new logging enterprises, develop the infrastructure of the region, etc."
Alexander Tufanov, a Director of Arkhbum Tissue Group, also spoke about the development prospects at the opening ceremony. Today, the company's products under its own brand Soffione are already successfully sold in the Russian Federation, in the countries of the former Soviet Union, Eastern and Western Europe. Now the company is actively working on an investment program, including one focused on meeting the rapidly growing demand in the HoReCa segment (catering and hotel business).
Alexander Tufanov specified that the company supplies paper towels and toilet paper under its own brand Soffione to large retail chains, including Magnit, Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, Diksi and Svetofor. About 15% of sanitary tissue products are exported to countries such as Germany, Croatia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. The base paper will be partially sold on the domestic market, and partially (about 50%) will also be exported to Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“By the end of 2020, Arkhbum Tissue Group expects to occupy 4% of the Russian market for sanitary tissue products,” assured Alexander Tufanov.
