Industrial Sacks From Cartiera del Chiese Win In Emerging Markets

 

Cartiera del Chiese, a family owned sack Kraft mill close to Milan in northern Italy, continues to find a niche for their recycled sack Kraft grades, largely through an entrepreneurial approach to markets, and a deep commitment to pioneering technology.

 

Enzo Fenotti, President, and co-founder of Cartiera del Chiese, insists that a small mill must be very focused and creative to compete, “Our raw material advantage, combined with ‘green’ high performance and energy saving technologies, gives us strength as a company to compete in emerging markets.”

 

Fenotti attributes much of the success to recycled pulping equipment provided by Kadant, a strategic partner for several decades. Cartiera del Chiese has four pulpers, and soon all of them will employ the latest Kadant Helisoft turbine technology, lowering the energy costs of pulping by 30%.

 

Top-Tier With Recycled Fiber

Second generation Enrico Fenotti, director of sales and marketing, who plays a key role in strategy says, "Our large industrial sacks for concrete are considered in the top tier, and have helped us secure a high market share in developing markets such as North Africa and Eastern Europe.”

 

Poor Raw Material Becomes Rich

The quality of raw material selected by Cartiera del Chiese is actually very high, even though contamination of plastics and a wide range of debris make it seem low. Comments Enzo, "The joint developments and cooperation with Kadant Lamort has allowed us to extract exceptional quality long fiber, giving us a performance and cost advantage.” Gentle handling of the long fiber continues from pulping through refining and screening. Short fiber also receives special attention, before it is re-combined with the long fiber.

 

Evolution Of The Pulper

According to Giovanbattista Beretta, Cartiera del Chiese's mill manager, the compressor used to be full length of the screw. Now it's divided. The first section transports raw material to the second part. At a lower speed, capable of speed adjustments because of an inverter on the engine, pulping occurs at about 40°C.

 

"We are always open to try something new. A long partnership with Kadant Lamort, based on trust, is ideal for both of us. When they have something new, we evaluate the potential carefully, and often, we become the pioneers."


Beretta notes that Kadant Lamort engineers and applications specialists have continuously been available to understand our needs and offer new possibilities. "Treated wet strength recycled papers were difficult for us to pulp, but now that's no longer an issue. In a similar way, contaminated plastics, or hot melts, can be very troubling to separate from the fiber. Again, Kadant helped us overcome this ‘sticky' problem."

 

The Helisoft Pulper rotor is made from a single solid stainless steel casting. Its shape ensures complete circulation of the stock at the highest possible consistency.

 

As recycled fiber and water are introduced, the high consistency pulping allows for high inter-fiber friction. The result is a superior defibering rate at the highest possible consistency.